New Findings in Bacterial Infections and Mycoses Described from University of Alabama at Birmingham (Isothermal microcalorimetry improves accuracy and time to bacterial detection of periprosthetic joint infection after total joint arthroplasty).

A recent study conducted at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has found that isothermal microcalorimetry (IMC) is a more accurate and faster method for detecting periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) after total joint arthroplasty compared to conventional cultures. The study collected deep tissue samples from 152 patients undergoing hip/knee arthroplasty and compared the results of IMC and cultures. The results showed that IMC had a sample concordance of 90% with cultures and demonstrated a sensitivity of 83% and specificity of 100% for PJI detection. IMC also had a significantly shorter median time to detection (TTD) compared to cultures. The study suggests that IMC can improve the accuracy and time to detection of PJI, particularly in patients on chronic antibiotics. [Extracted from the article]