ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating complication in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) surgeries and prompt diagnosis and treatment are vital; however, no study has been conducted to determine the relationship between characteristics and duration of surgical site discharge and PJI. METHODS: This is a longitudinal observational study that was performed at Al-Zahra and Kashani and Sadi university hospitals from 2017 until 2019. A total of 961 elective TKA were performed on 850 consecutive patients. Patients were followed up for two years after surgery. Data regarding the occurrence of discharges, types of discharges, duration of discharges, the incidence of PJI and superficial infections were collected. RESULTS: The rate of superficial and prosthetic joint infection was 0.3% and 0.3%. Patients with infections (either PJI or superficial) had a longer duration of discharge (14.6 days and 13.3 days in PJI and superficial infections respectively, compared to 7.7 days in all of the study population); Bloody-purulent discharge was associated with the development of prosthetic and superficial infections. CONCLUSION: Bloody purulent discharge reaching seven days postsurgical in TKA patients is highly suggestive of an underlying infection (PJI or superficial infection) but type and duration of discharge could not be used to differentiate between PJI and superficial infection. Other risk factors for PJI or superficial infection include women's gender, longer surgical duration, longer hospitalization and longer discharge duration.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Implantation of joint prosthesis, either in the knee or in the hip, may cause some problems such as an infection, so that a timely treatment is essential. In this respect, discovering a marker detecting the incidence of an infection is one of the requirements of arthroplasty. The present study was conducted to determine variations of two markers in arthroplasty and infection incidence in Iranian patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study was carried out in Isfahan's educational treatment centers from 2009 to 2011 on patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) surgical operations. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) was measured by Sed rate device (Lena) and C-reactive protein (CRP) by autoanalyzer device (Erba) with the unit of ng/dL. The patients underwent ESR and CRP tests the day before operation, the day of operation, and 1, 2, 5, and 15 days and 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after operation. RESULTS: Mean ESR increased during the first 5 days then decreased gradually lasting for 3 months. After 1 year it increased to a level higher than before the operation. The variations in ESR values were 19.1 ± 12.9 before the operation and 21.14 ± 10.8 after 1 year with significant difference (P < 0.001). The level of CRP had an upward trend from the first day after operation and reached its maximum on the second day, then had a downward trend up to 1 month after the operation; however, it did not reach its preoperative level during 1 year. CONCLUSION: ESR and CRP and their variations can be suitable factors to detect probable infections in patients undergoing TKA and THA operations.
