Clinical characteristics and risk factors for culture-negative periprosthetic joint infections

Culture-negative periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) can complicate diagnosis and management of PJI. This study aimed to identify risk factors for culture-negative PJI and differences in clinical characteristics between culture-positive and culture-negative PJI group.

This retrospective, cross-sectional study evaluated PJI cases obtained between January 2013 and October 2019 at our institution. These PJI cases were divided into culture-positive and culture-negative groups and then compared. The demographics, laboratory findings, and details of patient's clinical characteristics were investigated. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were performed to investigate risk factors for culture-negative PJI.

A total of 109 PJI cases were included in the analysis: 82 (75%) culture-positive and 27 (25%) culture-negative. The mean serum white blood cell (WBC) count, C-reactive protein level, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate in the culture-negative group were significantly lower than those in the culture-positive group (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups regarding history of prior antibacterial administration or treatment success rates. Multivariate analysis identified a low serum WBC count as a risk factor for culture-negative PJI (odds ratio = 0.78; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.63-0.97; p = 0.027).

A low serum WBC count is a risk factor for culture-negative PJI, but prior antimicrobial therapy is not. The results suggest that PJI cases with lower levels of systemic inflammation are likely to be culture-negative; therefore, the possibility of a culture-negative result should be considered in suspected cases of PJI with low inflammatory markers, regardless of prior antibiotic exposure.