Patients with rheumatoid arthritis have a high treatment failure rate when faced with a late acute periprosthetic joint infection. Because of the rarity of the condition, we performed a multicenter case-control study. We identified predictors of treatment failure to ultimately improve the treatment outcome. Exchange of modular components seems important in this patient group, likely due to a higher rate of positive blood cultures compared to control patients.

This meta-analysis evaluates synovial fluid white blood cell count and polymorphonuclear neutrophil proportion in order to diagnose chronic peri-prosthetic joint infection. Based on 74 studies, it identifies optimal thresholds, with rule-in and rule-out thresholds enhancing diagnostic precision. Confounding factors such as fractures and inflammatory arthritis are addressed. The findings support standardized diagnostic frameworks in improving accuracy and clinical consistency.

This is a summary of our position paper on debridement, antimicrobial therapy, and implant retention (DAIR) procedures as a curative treatment strategy for acute periprosthetic hip and knee infections. It includes the defined indications as well as the contraindications of DAIR procedures when eradication/cure is intended, based on the currently available literature. 

In this paper, we discuss the most relevant factors influencing the outcome and define indications, contraindications, and risk factors of a DAIR procedure based on the currently available literature. Furthermore, we discuss the surgical technique in combination with systemic antimicrobial therapy in patients undergoing a DAIR procedure.

This study evaluates dalbavancin, an antibiotic with a long duration of action, in treating complex bone and joint infections. It does not require daily dosing, allowing patients to leave the hospital earlier and reducing costs. Dalbavancin is shown to be effective and safe, especially for patients unsuitable for oral antibiotics or outpatient therapy, achieving similar results to traditional treatments while cutting healthcare costs.

This is a retrospective diagnostic study in acute postoperative prosthetic joint infection in total knee arthroplasty that wants to determine diagnostic accuracy of synovial glucose and serum-to-synovial glucose ratio in acute postoperative infection. Both tests demonstrated good diagnostic potential. Notably, these biomarkers exhibited superior accuracy compared to the combination of C-reactive protein, synovial white blood cell count and polymorphonuclear percentage.

When acute soft tissue defects are present after knee arthroplasty, the infection risk is high. A gastrocnemius flap is used for anterior defects, and it is not usually combined with debridement surgery unless infection is clear. We examined the benefit of combining coverage treatment with debridement surgery, DAIR, comparing the isolated traditional coverage treatment. The results suggested a higher healing rate in the combined treatment, so we recommended it.

This study validated three models for predicting infection after hip and knee replacement surgery. By analyzing data from 2684 patients in the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, we found that the models developed by Tan, Del Toro, and Bülow effectively identified high-risk patients. These models can be used to enhance preoperative counseling and to tailor infection prevention measures individually, potentially improving outcomes and reducing healthcare costs.

We assessed concordance of in-house guidelines for diagnostic principles and antibiotic treatment duration (ABT) 2 years after their implementation. The goal was to standardize diagnostic and treatment principles: are we doing what we recommend? The adherence to recommendations in terms of biopsy sampling was good, moderate for histopathology and poor for anatomic labeling. In terms of ABT duration, the adherence was good, but further shortening for surgically cured cases is necessary. 

This is a meta-analysis of six studies describing the cutoff values of white blood cell count and polymorphonuclear percentage in synovial fluid for the diagnosis of acute postoperative peri-prosthetic joint infection (PJI). 
We found that both the WBC count and PMN percentage are good markers for diagnosis of acute postoperative PJI. However, the synovial WBC count is more powerful in diagnosing acute postoperative PJI.

Tuberculosis (TB) primarily involves the lungs, but it may spread to other sites including joints. TB arthritis, is relatively rare, but it can result in severe damage to the joint and, ultimately, significant functional impairment. This article reviews the current literature on the topic and identifies key areas where further scientific research is needed to improve the diagnosis and management of the disease.

While there is no gold standard test to diagnose periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), we believe synovial fluid analysis, especially preoperatively, is a critical step in differentiating between infection and aseptic failure. Adding simple and inexpensive biomarkers such as synovial C-reactive protein (CRP) or adenosine deaminase (ADA) and combined interpretation can be helpful in the context of inconclusive results.

Our multicentre study on a lower-limb osteosynthesis-associated infection (OAI) cohort by multidrug (MDR) and extensively drug (XDR) resistant Gram-negative bacteria found the following: implant retention with debridement was mostly performed in early OAI; 50.9 % of patients achieved remission of infection; remission reached 50 % (MDR) vs. 25 % (XDR) in early OAI and 60 % (MDR) vs. 44.4 % (XDR) in late OAI; age (> 60) and multiple surgeries were independent factors influencing lack of remission.

A patient with normal D-dimer value has a low risk of prosthetic joint infection, so serum D-dimer assessment should always be considered as a useful test to rule out chronic prosthetic joint infection (especially in those cases caused by low-virulence microorganisms in which conventional tests may lead to misdiagnosis). Conversely, the platelet count to mean platelet volume ratio may be of limited value for accurately diagnosing prosthetic joint infection.

We report on an 83-year-old woman who had an open removal of a baker's cyst several months after total knee arthroplasty. The following wound healing problem was first misinterpreted as being superficial. With an injection of methylene blue and a contrast medium, we showed the extent of the sinus tract, proving the periprosthetic joint infection.

Implant-associated infections (IAIs) in orthopaedic surgery are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Slow-growing anaerobic bacteria are increasingly being recognized as potential causative agents in such infections, but their diagnosis is difficult. The purpose of this review is to summarize the current knowledge of IAIs with these bacteria. In particular, the review gives an overview of the current methodology in the diagnosis of such infections, to serve as a guide for clinicians.

Our data suggest that, in periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) patients with a draining sinus, suppressive antibiotic treatment (SAT) can be considered on an individual basis. SAT may reduce pain and favour the closure of the sinus tract in certain individuals, but the prescription of SAT does not appear to have any influence on the prevention of prosthetic loosening and other infectious complications.

When we initiated this paper, there was no evidence on what kind of spacers we should use. Our work was to prove that we must use a broad spectrum of antibiotics at the spacers in two-stage revision procedures. We demonstrate that a large spectrum of antibiotics at the spacer results in a lower rate of positive cultures during preimplantation and, subsequently, better outcomes and lower rate of infection.

A plausible cause of persistent infection after septic hip revision may be the presence of nonviable osteomyelitic bone. We present our initial experience in hip revision for chronic infection in which fluorescent tetracycline bone labeling was used as an additional aid to provide a visual index of surgical bone debridement. In the present series, the use of this technique successfully aided the surgeon to detect the presence of nonviable bone.