Circulating Biomarkers for Discrimination Between Aseptic Joint Failure, Low-Grade Infection, and High-Grade Septic Failure

Late-onset chronic (low-grade) periprosthetic joint infections are often accompanied by unspecific symptoms, false-negative cultures or nonspecific low values of serum biomarkers. This may lead to the unintended implantation of a revision prosthesis into an infected surgical site with the risk of short-term failure developing again. Conversely, false diagnosis of joint infection may result in multistage revision procedures, which expose the patient to unnecessary surgical procedures and inappropriate antibiotic treatment. Here, we investigated whether circulating biomarkers can preoperatively distinguish between aseptic prosthesis loosening and low-grade joint infection, and which biomarker combinations are most accurate.