Incidence and risk factors for periprosthetic joint infection: A common data model analysis

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) following primary total joint arthroplasty (TJA) and to investigate risk factors in a large cohort utilizing common data model (CDM).

The entire cohort of primary and revision hip or knee TJA between January 2003 and December 2017 was retrospectively analyzed utilizing the CDM database. We detected patients who had revision TJA as a consequence of PJI. We determined the incidence of PJI and examined risk factors, including demographic features, comorbidities, prior corticosteroid usage, and preoperative laboratory values.

There were 34 revision TJAs as a consequence of PJI (hip, 16; knee, 18) among 12,320 primary TJAs (hip, 4,758; knee 7,562), representing 0.27% incidence of PJI (hip, 0.33%; knee 0.23%). Of the patients, 15 were males and 19 were females. The mean age at the time of primary TJA was 59.8±17.5 (range, 31 to 85) years in hip PJI patients and 71.4±7.2 (range, 56 to 80) years in knee PJI patients. Hypertension and urinary tract infection were both associated with PJI following primary hip TJA. Age between 70 and 79 years, male sex, urinary tract infection, anemia, and prior corticosteroid usage were all associated with PJI following primary knee TJA.

This study indicates the viability of employing CDM to undertake research on PJI and serves as a reference for future CDM-based risk factor analysis. Preoperative screening and mitigating identified risk factors can aid in the reduction of PJI following TJA.