title: Periprosthetic joint infection with negative culture results: clinical characteristics and treatment outcome.
abstract: Negative culture result is frequently encountered in periprosthetic joint infection, but its clinical feature has not been well studied. In this study, clinical characteristics and treatment outcome were compared in two patient groups: (1) 40 periprosthetic joint infections with negative culture results (culture-negative group) and (2) 135 patients with positive culture results (culture-positive group). In comparison of two groups, the culture-negative group showed significantly higher incidence of prior antibiotic use (p=0.005), higher incidence of prior resection surgery (p<0.001) and lower ESR (p=0.02) than the culture-positive group. The success rate of infection control was higher in the culture-negative group (p=0.006), which suggests that culture negativity may not necessarily be a negative prognostic factor for periprosthetic joint infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Harris Orthopedic Laboratory, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Ho-Rim
authors.initials: HR
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.forename: Young-Min
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Andrew A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Freiberg
authors.forename: Sandra B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Malchau
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000009:adverse effects*; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome