Benefit of Synovial Aspiration and Serological Testing in Two-stage Revision Arthroplasty of Prosthetic Joint Infection

The two-stage protocol is gold standard in terms of infection control treating prosthetic joint infections of total hip and total knee arthroplasty. The antibiotic pause for diagnostic reasons before reconstruction (stage two) is discussed concerning persistence of infection and development of resistant bacterial strains. Serological markers and synovial analysis are common use to exclude persistence of infection.

The investigators therefore asked 1) is the serological testing of c-reactive protein and leukocytes a valuable tool to predict a persistence of infection and 2) what is the role of synovial aspiration of PMMA Spacers on hip and knee joints.