Fig. 1.

Flowchart illustrating the treatment scheme for the animals in this experiment. After all the rats developed acute periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), the four treatment groups subjected to debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention (DAIR) were as follows: Control group (sham); PI group (0.35% povidone-iodine); LIPUS and saline group (low-intensity pulsed ultrasound combined with saline); and LIPUS and PI group (low-intensity pulsed ultrasound combined with 0.35% povidone-iodine). IL, interleukin; MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; SAA, serum amyloid A; SEM, scanning electron microscopy; TNF-α, tumour necrosis factor-alpha.