Table 1.
Criteria for diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection.31
| A definite diagnosis of PJI can be made when one of the following three conditions are met: | |
| 1. | There is a sinus tract communicating with the prosthesis; or |
| 2. | A pathogen is isolated by culture from at least two separate tissue or fluid samples obtained from the affected prosthetic joint; or |
| 3. | Four of the following six criteria exist: |
| a. Elevated serum erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) or serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration b. Elevated synovial white blood cell (WBC) count c. Elevated synovial neutrophil percentage (PMN%) d. Presence of purulence in the affected joint e. Isolation of a microorganism in one culture of periprosthetic tissue or fluid, or f. Greater than five neutrophils per high-power field in five high-power fields observed from histologic analysis of periprosthetic tissue at ×400 magnification. Infection may be present if fewer than four of these criteria are met. | |