ArticleEuropean journal of microbiology & immunology2026
Complement factors C3 and C5 as tissue biomarkers for differentiating periprosthetic joint infection from aseptic implant failure.
Article in European journal of microbiology & immunology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
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: The diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), and particularly low-grade ((LG) PJI) infections, remains a clinical challenge. Systemic inflammatory markers sometimes yield false-negative results in inapparent cases, complicating the differentiation from aseptic loosening (AL). This exploratory study evaluated tissue-based complement factors C3 and C5 as biomarkers compared to terminal factor C9 and established systemic parameters. Methods: Fifty-five patients undergoing revision arthroplasty were categorized into high-grade PJI (HG) PJI, N = 20), (LG) PJI (N = 14), and AL (N = 21). Serum parameters (C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cells (WBC)) were analyzed by immunohistochemistry for tissue-based C3, C5, and C9. Diagnostic performance was assessed via ROC analysis. Results: Pathogen spectra differed significantly, with (LG) PJI dominated by Cutibacterium acnes and (HG) PJI by staphylococci. ROC analysis showed that serum CRP accurately identified (HG) -PJI, but failed in (LG) PJI. WBC demonstrated limited accuracy. In contrast, C3 detection in tissues exhibited superior performance, particularly for identifying (LG) PJI versus (HG) PJI. C5 detection remained robust in both PJI types. Terminal factor C9 yielded lower overall discrimination and significant cross-reactivity in AL cases. Conclusions: Central complement factors C3 and C5 serve as robust tissue biomarkers for PJI, outperforming C9 and systemic parameters. Their implementation may improve clinical decision-making, especially in (LG) PJI cases, where standard diagnostic criteria remain inconclusive.
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.