This retrospective study analyzed 682 patients who underwent primary total hip or knee arthroplasty to evaluate the impact of malnutrition on post-operative outcomes. Malnutrition, as defined by the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) and controlling nutritional status (CONUT) scores, was significantly associated with higher rates of post-operative infection and poorer quality-of-life scores. Early nutritional assessment may improve post-operative recovery and reduce complication rates.

Timely and accurate pathogen identification is essential for managing periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs), yet conventional culturing often yields false negatives and requires prolonged incubation. We evaluated an in-vivo-like synovial fluid medium and isothermal microcalorimetry. The combined use of these approaches improved detection rates and reduced time to diagnosis, offering valuable insights to advance PJI diagnostics and support better clinical decision-making.

The aim of this proof-of-concept study was to investigate host immune gene expression through transcriptome profiling in patients with fracture-related infection and to explore the feasibility of detecting 16S rRNA and biofilm-associated genes, an approach not previously applied using this method. This technique revealed distinct immune activation patterns in fracture-related infection (FRI) and enabled the identification of pathogens that were missed by conventional culture techniques.