Cobalt (Co) and its compounds are widely distributed in nature and are part of numerous anthropogenic activities. Although cobalt has a biologically necessary role as metal constituent of vitamin B12, excessive exposure has been shown to induce various adverse health effects. This review provides an extended overview of the possible Co sources and related intake routes, the detection and quantification methods for Co intake and the interpretation thereof, and the reported health effects. The Co sources were allocated to four exposure settings: occupational, environmental, dietary and medical exposure. Oral intake of Co supplements and internal exposure through metal-on-metal (MoM) hip implants deliver the highest systemic Co concentrations. The systemic health effects are characterized by a complex clinical syndrome, mainly including neurological (e.g. hearing and visual impairment), cardiovascular and endocrine deficits. Recently, a biokinetic model has been proposed to characterize the dose-response relationship and effects of chronic exposure. According to the model, health effects are unlikely to occur at blood Co concentrations under 300μg/l (100μg/l respecting a safety factor of 3) in healthy individuals, hematological and endocrine dysfunctions are the primary health endpoints, and chronic exposure to acceptable doses is not expected to pose considerable health hazards. However, toxic reactions at lower doses have been described in several cases of malfunctioning MoM hip implants, which may be explained by certain underlying pathologies that increase the individual susceptibility for Co-induced systemic toxicity. This may be associated with a decrease in Co bound to serum proteins and an increase in free ionic Co2+. As the latter is believed to be the primary toxic form, monitoring of the free fraction of Co2+ might be advisable for future risk assessment. Furthermore, future research should focus on longitudinal studies in the clinical setting of MoM hip implant patients to further elucidate the dose-response discrepancies.

The interpretation of metal ion concentrations and their role in clinical management of patients with metal-on-metal implants is still controversial. We questioned whether patients undergoing hip resurfacing with no clinical problems could be differentiated from those with clinical (pain, loss of function) and/or radiographic (component malpositioning, migration, bone loss), problems based on metal ion levels, and if there was a threshold metal level that predicted the need for clinical intervention. Furthermore, we asked if patient and implant factors differed between these functional groups. We retrospectively identified 453 unilateral and 139 bilateral patients with ion measurements at minimum followup of 12 months (mean, 4.3 years; range, 1–12.9 years). Patients were designated as well functioning or poorly functioning based on strict criteria. The acceptable upper levels within the well-functioning group were determined from the 75th percentile plus 1.5× interquartile range. The sensitivity and specificity of these levels to predict clinical problems were calculated. Well-functioning group ions were lower than the poorly functioning group ion levels. The acceptable upper levels were: chromium (Cr) 4.6 μg/L, cobalt (Co) 4.0 μg/L unilateral and Cr 7.4 μg/L, Co 5.0 μg/L bilateral. The specificity of these levels in predicting poor function was high (95%) and sensitivity was low (25%). There were more males in the well-functioning group and more females and smaller femoral components in the poorly functioning group. Metal levels higher than these proposed safe upper limits can predict problems with metal-on-metal resurfacings and are important parameters in the management of at-risk patients. Level II, diagnostic study. See Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.

Background: Infection remains among the main reasons for joint prosthesis failure. Preclinical reports have suggested that antibacterial coatings of implants may prevent bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation. This study presents the results of the first clinical trial on an antibiotic-loaded fast-resorbable hydrogel coating (Defensive Antibacterial Coating, DAC^®) in patients undergoing hip or knee prosthesis.