Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33367280›Full record

ArticleBone & joint open2020

Synovial fluid interleukin-6 is not superior to cell count and differential in the detection of periprosthetic joint infection.

René Mihalič, Jurij Zdovc, Peter Brumat, Rihard Trebše

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Bone & joint open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.8field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Periprosthetic joint infections: state-of-the-art.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2024
    Review
  6. Review
  7. Review
  8. Review
  9. Article
  10. Role of Biomarkers in Periprosthetic Joint Infections.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022
    Review
  11. Synovial fluid pH is as specific as synovial leukocyte count but less sensitive for the diagnosis of chronic prosthetic joint infection.Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology · 2022
    Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

René MihaličService for Bone Infections, Valdoltra Orthopaedic Hospital, Ankaran, Slovenia.ORCID 0000-0003-2649-5913
Jurij ZdovcFaculty of Pharmacy, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Peter BrumatService for Bone Infections, Valdoltra Orthopaedic Hospital, Ankaran, Slovenia.
Rihard TrebšeService for Bone Infections, Valdoltra Orthopaedic Hospital, Ankaran, Slovenia.
Orthopaedic Hospital Valdoltra · SIUniversity of Ljubljana · SI

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

aimsSynovial fluid white blood cell (WBC) count and percentage of polymorphonuclear cells (%PMN) are elevated at periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). Leucocytes produce different interleukins (IL), including IL-6, so we hypothesized that synovial fluid IL-6 could be a more accurate predictor of PJI than synovial fluid WBC count and %PMN. The main aim of our study was to compare the predictive performance of all three diagnostic tests in the detection of PJI.

methodsPatients undergoing total hip or knee revision surgery were included. In the perioperative assessment phase, synovial fluid WBC count, %PMN, and IL-6 concentration were measured. Patients were labeled as positive or negative according to the predefined cut-off values for IL-6 and WBC count with %PMN. Intraoperative samples for microbiological and histopathological analysis were obtained. PJI was defined as the presence of sinus tract, inflammation in histopathological samples, and growth of the same microorganism in a minimum of two or more samples out of at least four taken.

resultsIn total, 49 joints in 48 patients (mean age 68 years (SD 10; 26 females (54%), 25 knees (51%)) were included. Of these 11 joints (22%) were infected. The synovial fluid WBC count and %PMN predicted PJI with sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV of 82%, 97%, 94%, 90%, and 95%, respectively. Synovial fluid IL-6 predicted PJI with sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV of 73%, 95%, 90%, 80%, and 92%, respectively. A comparison of predictive performance indicated a strong agreement between tests.

conclusionsSynovial fluid IL-6 is not superior to synovial fluid WBC count and %PMN in detecting PJI.Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IICite this article:

Indexed as

IL-6Interleukin-6Periprosthetic joint infectionPJISynovial fluid

Identifiers

PMID33367280
PMCPMC7750741
OpenAlexW3113071035

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.