Articles | Volume 10, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/jbji-10-303-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/jbji-10-303-2025
Brief report
 | 
13 Aug 2025
Brief report |  | 13 Aug 2025

Low-grade infections as a potential contributor of arthrofibrosis following total knee arthroplasty

Lucía Henríquez, Ander Uribarri, Ignacio Sancho, and Maria Eugenia Portillo

Related authors

The efficacy of suppressive antibiotic treatment in patients managed non-operatively for periprosthetic joint infection and a draining sinus
Karel-Jan Dag François Lensen, Rosa Escudero-Sanchez, Javier Cobo, Rihard Trebše, Camelia Gubavu, Sara Tedeschi, Jose M. Lomas, Cedric Arvieux, Dolors Rodriguez-Pardo, Massimo Fantoni, Maria Jose Garcia Pais, Francisco Jover, Mauro José Costa Salles, Ignacio Sancho, Marta Fernandez Sampedro, Alex Soriano, Marjan Wouthuyzen-Bakker, and ESCMID Study Group of Implant Associated Infections (ESGIAI)
J. Bone Joint Infect., 6, 313–319, https://doi.org/10.5194/jbji-6-313-2021,https://doi.org/10.5194/jbji-6-313-2021, 2021
Short summary

Cited articles

Amanatullah, D. F., Lichstein, P. M., Lundergan, W. G., Wong, W. W., Maloney, W. J., Goodman, S. B., and Huddleston, J. I.: Improved Range of Motion and Patient-Reported Outcome Scores With Fixed-Bearing Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty for Suboptimal Axial Implant Rotation, J. Arthroplasty, 34, 1174–1178, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ARTH.2019.02.007, 2019. 
Bayram, B., Limberg, A. K., Salib, C. G., Bettencourt, J. W., Trousdale, W. H., Lewallen, E. A., Reina, N., Paradise, C. R., Thaler, R., Morrey, M. E., Sanchez-Sotelo, J., Berry, D. J., van Wijnen, A. J., and Abdel, M. P.: Molecular Pathology of Human Knee Arthrofibrosis Defined by RNA Sequencing, Genomics, 112, 2703, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.YGENO.2020.03.004, 2020. 
Brückner, C., Straube, E., Petersen, I., Sachse, S., Keller, P., Layher, F., Matziolis, G., Spiegl, U., Zajonz, D., Edel, M., and Roth, A.: Low-grade infections as a possible cause of arthrofibrosis after total knee arthroplasty, Patient Saf. Surg., 13, 1, https://doi.org/10.1186/s13037-018-0181-1, 2019. 
Chen, X., Wang, Z., Huang, Y., Deng, W., Zhou, Y., and Chu, M.: Identification of novel biomarkers for arthrofibrosis after total knee arthroplasty in animal models and clinical patients, EBioMedicine, 70, 103543, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2021.103543, 2021.  
Cheuy, V. A., Foran, J. R. H., Paxton, R. J., Bade, M. J., Zeni, J. A., and Stevens-Lapsley, J. E.: Arthrofibrosis Associated With Total Knee Arthroplasty, J. Arthroplasty, 32, 2604–2611, https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ARTH.2017.02.005, 2017. 
Download
Short summary
Arthrofibrosis after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) remains a challenging complication. We analysed 19 TKA cases, isolating low-virulence pathogens in 43 % of them. Although a causal link with low-grade peri-prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is unconfirmed, our findings support its potential role in arthrofibrosis. If validated, this could shift the therapeutic approach toward PJI-oriented management.
Share