Fig. 1.

The flowchart shows enrollment and microbiologic results for the patients. According to clinical and laboratory presentation, 232 patients were considered to have an infection (septic group, n = 107) or not have an infection (aseptic group, n = 125). All patients were randomly assigned by a sealed envelope technique to the sonication group (117 patients) or to the DTT group (115 patients). According to MSIS criteria, 146 patients (109 in the aseptic group and 37 in the septic group) were confirmed as not having an infection (red arrow and box). Eighty-six patients (16 in the aseptic group and 70 in the septic group) had PJIs confirmed based on MSIS criteria (blue arrow and box). MSIS = Musculoskeletal Infection Society; DTT = dithiothreitol; PJI = prosthetic joint infection; MRSA = methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; MSSA = methicillin-susceptible S aureus; MSSE = methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus; MR = methicillin-resistant; CoNS = coagulase-negative staphylococci; MS = methicillin-sensitive; ESR = erythrocyte sedimentation rate; CRP = C-reactive protein.