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Why Is Continued Amoxicillin Dosage Required Before Dental Work After Hip Replacement?
Question: Why do I continue to take 2000 mg. amoxicillin before dental work 7years after my hip replacement?
Brief Answer:
To prevent bone infection, sepsis, or endocarditis
Detailed Answer:
Hi, thank you for using Healthcare Magic. Certain situations increase the risk of getting endocarditis, which is an infection in the heart valves, or infection in foreign bodies, which would be the hip replacement materials, that could get into the bone. During dental and certain other medical procedures, a small amount of bacteria are released into the bloodstream. Most people's immune systems respond quickly to eliminate the bacteria. Abnormal heart valves or certain types of hardware in the body such as a hip replacement form a place where the bacteria can "hide out" and start to grow. This eventually can lead to sepsis and serious infections in the bone or heart which are very hard to treat and require many weeks of antibiotics.
For those people who have a hip replacement or a bad heart valve, or have had a heart valve replacement, it has been shown that a big dose of antibiotics given before the procedure greatly reduces the risk for developing these type of infections. The risk will never change unless the hardware is removed, so you will always need to take antibiotics prior to dental work to prevent a more serious infection from developing.
Hope this answers your query. If you have further questions, I would be happy to answer them.
To prevent bone infection, sepsis, or endocarditis
Detailed Answer:
Hi, thank you for using Healthcare Magic. Certain situations increase the risk of getting endocarditis, which is an infection in the heart valves, or infection in foreign bodies, which would be the hip replacement materials, that could get into the bone. During dental and certain other medical procedures, a small amount of bacteria are released into the bloodstream. Most people's immune systems respond quickly to eliminate the bacteria. Abnormal heart valves or certain types of hardware in the body such as a hip replacement form a place where the bacteria can "hide out" and start to grow. This eventually can lead to sepsis and serious infections in the bone or heart which are very hard to treat and require many weeks of antibiotics.
For those people who have a hip replacement or a bad heart valve, or have had a heart valve replacement, it has been shown that a big dose of antibiotics given before the procedure greatly reduces the risk for developing these type of infections. The risk will never change unless the hardware is removed, so you will always need to take antibiotics prior to dental work to prevent a more serious infection from developing.
Hope this answers your query. If you have further questions, I would be happy to answer them.
Note: For more detailed guidance, please consult an Internal Medicine Specialist, with your latest reports. Click here..
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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