AB163. SOH26AB_0344. Intraoperative specimens for accurate diagnosis of prosthetic joint infections: a retrospective study
Orthopaedic Session II

AB163. SOH26AB_0344. Intraoperative specimens for accurate diagnosis of prosthetic joint infections: a retrospective study

Victoria Giglio1, Louise Kent1, Martine Steiner2, Matthew Nagle1, James Powell1, John Tristan Cassidy1

1Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University Hospital Limerick, Limerick, Ireland; 2School of Medicine, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland

Background: Prosthetic joint infections (PJIs) are a major complication in joint arthroplasty. Guidelines recommend specific intra-operative sampling protocols to improve diagnostic accuracy and guide treatment. This study aimed to describe the microbiological profile and current intraoperative sampling practices at University Hospital Limerick.

Methods: A retrospective study of all patients undergoing hip or knee revision arthroplasty for suspected or confirmed PJI over a 1-year period was included. Patient data were extracted from medical records. Deep-tissue samples and microbiology data were obtained from an electronic microbiology database. Statistics were completed in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).

Results: Fifty-seven patients involving 68 re-operations were included: 36 (63%) hip and 21 (37%) knee procedures. Of the 68 surgeries, 24% obtained ≥5 deep tissue samples, and 37% did not obtain any deep tissue samples. The percent positive rate of the obtained samples was 43%. The number of culture-positive surgeries was significantly different between surgeries that obtained ≥5 deep tissue samples compared to surgeries that took ≥5 samples [relative risk (RR) =1.99; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.19–3.33; P=0.01]. Of the 24 surgeries with positive samples (35%), 9 (37%) of these infections were considered polymicrobial. The most common bacteria isolated was coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) in 32% of positive procedures.

Conclusions: This study identifies the lack of a standardized deep-tissue sampling protocol in suspected PJI revision surgeries and reports a diverse microbiological profile with several polymicrobial infections. Findings from this study have informed the development of a local deep-tissue sampling protocol for revision arthroplasty, with future research planned to evaluate quality improvement and infection profiles.

Keywords: Prosthetic joint infections (PJIs); revision arthroplasty; sampling procedures; polymicrobial; arthroplasty

Acknowledgments

None.

Footnote

Funding: None.

Conflicts of Interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Ethical Statement: The authors are accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Open Access Statement: This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits the non-commercial replication and distribution of the article with the strict proviso that no changes or edits are made and the original work is properly cited (including links to both the formal publication through the relevant DOI and the license). See: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.

doi: 10.21037/map-26-ab163
Cite this abstract as: Giglio V, Kent L, Steiner M, Nagle M, Powell J, Cassidy JT. AB163. SOH26AB_0344. Intraoperative specimens for accurate diagnosis of prosthetic joint infections: a retrospective study. Mesentery Peritoneum 2026;10:AB163.

Article Options

Download Citation

Share