title: The role of intraoperative frozen section in decision making in revision hip and knee arthroplasties in a local community hospital.
abstract: There is little information in the literature regarding the reliability of intraoperative frozen section to predict infection in revision arthroplasties performed in community hospitals as most reports are from specialized centers or academic institutes. Between November 1997 and May 2001, we performed intraoperative frozen sections in 40 revision hip and knee arthroplasties. We used Mirra's criteria of more than 5 polymorphs per high power field to constitute a positive result. We found a sensitivity of 67% and a specificity of 97%. The positive and negative predictive values were 86% and 91%, respectively, with an accuracy of 90%. We conclude that intraoperative frozen section is a reasonably sensitive and specific adjunct investigation in the differentiation between septic and aseptic loosening.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Orthopaedic Surgery, Bank of America Tower, Central Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Put Shui
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ip
authors.forename: Kai Pun
authors.initials: KP
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cheung
authors.forename: On Bong
authors.initials: OB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: James Joseph
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Lam
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D005629:Frozen Sections; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006801:Humans; D007239:Infections / Q000175:diagnosis*; D007432:Intraoperative Period; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011475:Prosthesis Failure; D012086:Reoperation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity