Utility of 16S rRNA PCR in the Synovial Fluid for the Diagnosis of Prosthetic Joint Infection

• Published in: Annals of laboratory medicine 2018, 38(6), , pp.610-612
• Main Authors: Sebastian, Sujeesh, Malhotra, Rajesh, Sreenivas, Vishnubhatla, Kapil, Arti, Chaudhry, Rama, Dhawan, Benu
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arthritis, Infectious - diagnosis; Arthritis, Infectious - microbiology; Arthroplasty; Female; Humans; Letter to the Editor; Male; Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - chemistry; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - metabolism; Sensitivity and Specificity; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Synovial Fluid - microbiology; 병리학
• ISSN: 2234-3806; 2234-3814
• DOI: 10.3343/alm.2018.38.6.610

Conventional culture has been the mainstay for diagnosing prosthetic joint infections (PJIs), with synovial fluid and periprosthetic tissue samples being the preferred sample types [1]. However, culture-based methods often give false-negative results in patients with a high likelihood of PJI [2]. To overcome the limitations of culture methods, molecular techniques like universal 16S rRNA gene and pathogen-specific PCRs were developed for PJI diagnosis [2, 3]. Although PCR assays have shown satisfactory results in tests of periprosthetic tissue samples and sonication fluid, the diagnostic utility of PCR is less clear in tests of the synovial fluid [2-4]. Most studies that evaluated the utility of 16S rRNA PCR in the synovial fluid for diagnosing PJI have not used the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) consensus criteria as the gold standard for PJI [2, 5]. Therefore, we evaluated the utility of 16S rRNA PCR in the synovial fluid for diagnosing PJI using MSIS criteria. KCI Citation Count: 1