Timepoint of aspiration can impact diagnostic of PJI - synovial fluid analyses exhibit a high intraindividual variation in periprosthetic joint infections of the knee.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Synovial leukocyte cell count (LC) and polymorphonuclear percentage (PMN%) are key parameters in the diagnostic workup of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). Despite ongoing debates regarding optimal thresholds-particularly for reliably excluding low-grade infections-no study has investigated potential confounders such as intra-individual, time-dependent variability of LC and PMN% in patients with PJI following total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Methods

We conducted a retrospective, double-centre study using prospectively collected data from 35 consecutive patients with confirmed knee PJI, each of whom underwent two joint aspirations at different time points (t1 and t2; mean interval 33 ± 31 days, range 0-111 days; total 70 samples). We analysed absolute and percent

SUBMITTER: Kirschbaum S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12041148 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature