The relation between postoperative wound leakage and occurrence of a prosthetic joint infection (PJI) after arthroplasty has not been investigated in a prospective study. We performed a large cohort study in which 1019 patients, after arthroplasty, recorded their wound drainage status in a wound care app during 30 postoperative days. Risk factors for wound drainage were identified. Moderate to heavy wound leakage in the third postoperative week was strongly associated with the occurrence of PJI.

Forty years ago I made a radical professional choice: to dedicate a few years of practice to the African continent. Not surprisingly, a few years became many. This paper is dedicated to the children who are battling osteoarticular infections and to those who will be struggling with them in future.

Arthroplasty after septic arthritis (SA) raises diagnostic and therapeutic questions. We report on 49 knee and hip arthroplasties following SA. Median SA-to-arthroplasty interval was 32 weeks, and one-stage arthroplasty was performed in 43 episodes. No SA relapse but 5 new prosthetic joint infections occurred with an infection-free survival rate of 96 % at 2 years. Arthroplasty may be a post-SA option, even within a short period of time but requires specific management and prolonged monitoring.

Prosthetic joint infection is a complicated problem, where reinfection can occur. Understanding risk factors for failure helps optimize care. This study investigated if the presence of a draining sinus tract was correlated with failure of two-stage revision. Previous cases were reviewed at our institution over a 10-year period. Patients with a sinus tract were significantly less likely to be replanted compared to those without a sinus tract at presentation.

Adding immunologic evaluation to the Cierny–Mader classification more accurately determines patients’ true host status and better quantifies risk and outcome with respect to orthopedic infection. Immunologically deficient A hosts should be quantified as B hosts. IgG deficiencies can be addressed with supplementation. IgG replacement should be considered in patients with recurrent orthopedic infections.