Table 3.
Characteristics and Sources of Musculoskeletal, Cardiovascular, and Central Nervous System Specimens
| Characteristic | Musculoskeletal (n = 391) | Cardiovascular (n = 41) | CNS (n = 44) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specimen source | Synovial fluid, 50%; periprosthetic joint tissue, 18%; native joint tissue, 8%; bone 4%; spine, 10%; hardware sonicate fluid, 2%; other, 9% | Heart valve, 66%; aortic graft, 15%; other, 20% | CSF, 77%; brain biopsy, 23% |
| Specimen type, (%) | |||
| Fluid | 50 | 5a | 23a |
| Tissue | 50 | 95 | 77 |
| Gram stain positivity rate, no. positive/total (%) | |||
| Infected | 17/195 (9) | 1/27 (4) | 1/17 (6) |
| Uninfected | 1/182 (0.5) | 0/13 (0) | 0/23 (0) |
| Total | 18/377 (5) | 1/40 (2.5) | 2.5 (3) |
| Clinically diagnosed infectious syndrome, (%) | 52 | 66 | 43 |
| Culture positivity rate, no. positive/total (%) | |||
| Infected | 84/204 (41) | 2/27 (7) | 1/18 (5.5) |
| Uninfected | 5/182 (3) | 0/14 (0) | 1/24 (4) |
| Total | 89/386 (23)a | 2/41 (5) | 2/42 (5) |
| PCR positivity rate, no. positive/total (%) | |||
| Infected | 60/202 (30) | 10/27 (37) | 2/19 (10.5) |
| Uninfected | 5/182 (3) | 0/14 (0) | 2/25 (8) |
| Total | 65/384 (17) | 10/41 (24) | 4/44 (9) |
| Prior antibiotics, no./total (%) | |||
| Infected | 88/206 (43) | 19/27 (70) | 15/19 (80) |
| Uninfected | 21/185 (11) | 5/14 (36) | 3/25 (12) |
| Total | 109/391(28) | 24/41 (59) | 18/44 (41) |
| Impact on clinical care, no./total (%) | |||
| Infected | 12/205 (6) | 7/27 (26) | 2/19 (10.5) |
| Uninfected | 4/185 (2) | 2/14 (14) | 0/25 (0) |
| Total | 16/390 (4) | 9/41 (22)a | 2/44 (5) |
Abbreviations: CNS, central nervous system; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; PCR, polymerase chain reaction.
aP < .05