ArticleArthroplasty today2026
Interlaboratory Reliability of Synovial Fluid Analysis in Prosthetic Knee Aspiration.
Article in Arthroplasty today, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Synovial fluid analysis is a critical step in the diagnosis of periprosthetic knee joint infection. We hypothesized that clinically meaningful differences between white blood cell (WBC) count, polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) cell percentage, and culture results would exist between 2 independent laboratories when the same synovial fluid aspirate is analyzed. Methods: A retrospective chart review was completed on total knee arthroplasty patients who underwent knee arthrocentesis between 2017 and 2025. The synovial fluid aspirate from a single knee arthrocentesis was divided into identical samples and analyzed by 2 independent laboratories. WBC count, PMN percentage, and culture results were recorded. Results: In total, 202 consecutive prosthetic knee aspirates were analyzed. Agreement was found in 14 of 20 samples (70%) that tested ≥3000 WBC/μl ( Conclusions: Two independent laboratories displayed clinically meaningful variability in WBC count, PMN percentage, and culture results. The difficulty in diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection may at least in part be due to poor interlaboratory reliability concerning synovial fluid analysis. Refinement of interlaboratory agreement, further research into advanced diagnostic methods, and measures to improve the accuracy of synovial fluid analysis are all critical steps toward refining the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection. Level III: Retrospective Cohort study, Diagnostic.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.