Observational studyBMC musculoskeletal disorders2020
Thermogenic diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection by microcalorimetry of synovial fluid.
Observational study in BMC musculoskeletal disorders, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02530229 (Early Diagnostics of Septic Arthritis and Periprosthetic Joint Infections With Calorimetry and Polymerase Chain Reaction), which is not on this map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Early Diagnostics of Septic Arthritis and Periprosthetic Joint Infections With Calorimetry and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) of Synovial Aspirate Fluid
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 19 citations in OpenAlex.
- Assessment and diagnosis of the acute hot joint: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2023Pooled it
- Advancing diagnostics in suspected periprosthetic joint infections using synthetic synovial fluid and microcalorimetry.Journal of bone and joint infection · 2026Article
- A Novel Approach for Tissue Analysis in Joint Infections Using the Scattered Light Integrating Collector (SLIC).Biosensors · 2025Article
- A Machine Learning Approach to Microcalorimetric Pattern Classification of Pathogens in Synovial Fluid.Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society · 2025Article
- Beyond Cultures: The Evolving Role of Molecular Diagnostics, Synovial Biomarkers and Artificial Intelligence in the Diagnosis of Prosthetic Joint Infections.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- The Ongoing Struggle to Find a Gold Standard for PJI Diagnosis.Reports (MDPI) · 2025Review
- Sonication protocols and their contributions to the microbiological diagnosis of implant-associated infections: a review of the current scenario.Frontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2024Review
- Isothermal microcalorimetry improves accuracy and time to bacterial detection of periprosthetic joint infection after total joint arthroplasty.Journal of clinical microbiology · 2023Article
- The State of Microbiology Diagnostic of Prosthetic Joint Infection in Europe: An In-Depth Survey Among Clinical Microbiologists.Frontiers in microbiology · 2022Article
- Invited reply to the letter to the editor by McNally et al., 2021.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
- The importance of appropriate diagnostics in prosthetic joint infection: letter to the editor of BMC musculoskeletal disorders.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSynovial fluid culture is the standard investigation for the preoperative diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). However, the culture has limited sensitivity and requires several days until result. We evaluated the value of isothermal microcalorimetry for real-time diagnosis of PJI based on heat produced by microbial growth in synovial fluid.
methodsPatients undergoing aspiration of prosthetic hip or knee joint before revision surgery were prospectively included between 2014 and 2015. The performance of microcalorimetry was compared to synovial fluid culture using McNemar's chi-squared test. Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated for synovial fluid leukocyte count and microcalorimetric heat.
resultsOf 107 included patients (58 knee and 49 hip prosthesis), PJI was diagnosed in 46 patients (43%) and aseptic failure in 61 patients (57%) according to institutional criteria. In 26 PJI cases (56%) the pathogen grew in synovial fluid and intra-operative cultures. The sensitivity of synovial fluid culture and microcalorimetry was both 39% and the results were concordant in 98 patients (92%). In patients with PJI, microcalorimetry missed 4 pathogens which grew in synovial fluid culture, whereas culture missed 4 pathogens detected by microcalorimetry. A linear correlation (r = 0.366) was found between leukocyte count and microcalorimetric heat in synovial fluid (p < 0.001). The median time to positivity of microcalorimetry was 9 h (range, 1-64 h) vs. 3 days for cultures (range, 1-14 days).
conclusionMicrocalorimetry of synovial fluid allows thermogenic diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection in synovial fluid. The diagnostic performance of synovial fluid microcalorimetry is comparable to culture and delivers results considerably faster.
trial registrationThis prospective study was registered on August 21, 2015 with the public clinical trial identification NCT02530229.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.