Genomic analysis using next-generation sequencing can identify infecting organisms in over 80 percent of cases of infected joint replacements that had previously escaped detection, according to a study published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
Here are four things you need to know:
1. Joint replacement surgery carries the risk of developing an infection in the replaced joint, which can lead a revision joint replacement. Current diagnostic practices can fail to detect bacteria in between 30 and 50 percent of cases, complicating or delaying treatment.
2. The study authors prospectively enrolled patients undergoing a revision joint replacement over a nine-month period in 2016. Samples were collected from 65 revision arthroplasties and 17 primary arthroplasties and assessed for infection by culture and NGS. The Musculoskeletal Infection Society definition of periprosthetic joint infection was used as the standard.
3. NGS identified organisms in 89 percent of infected cases compared with 61 percent with culture. NGS was able to detect pathogens in 81 percent of cases that were missed by the standard culture method.
4. A multicenter trial is underway to determine the significance of NGS on treatment outcomes.
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