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The European Bone and Joint Infection Society definition of periprosthetic joint infection is meaningful in clinical
Ricardo Sousa1, Ana Ribau2, Pedro Alfaro3
1Porto Bone and Joint Infection Group (GRIP), Department of Orthopedics, Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Porto and CUF - Hospitais e Clínicas, Portugal. ricardojgsousa@gmail.com.
Insights
The European Bone and Joint Infection Society (EBJIS) definition is the most sensitive for diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). It accurately rules out infection preoperatively and identifies cases with a higher risk of subsequent PJI.
Area of Science:
- Orthopedics
- Infectious Diseases
- Medical Diagnostics
Background:
- Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) diagnosis relies on established criteria.
- The European Bone and Joint Infection Society (EBJIS) proposed a new definition for PJI.
- Evaluating new diagnostic criteria is crucial for patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the diagnostic accuracy of the new EBJIS PJI definition.
- To compare the EBJIS definition with existing PJI diagnostic criteria.
- To evaluate the EBJIS definition's accuracy in preoperative PJI diagnosis.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective multicenter cohort study of revision hip and knee arthroplasties.
- Classification of cases using EBJIS, ICM 2018, IDSA, and MSIS definitions.
- Minimum 2-year follow-up for clinical outcome assessment.
Main Results:
- EBJIS identified the highest proportion of PJI cases (41%).
- EBJIS showed higher sensitivity and better preoperative classification agreement (k=0.9).
- EBJIS demonstrated high accuracy in ruling out PJI (NPV 90%).
Conclusions:
- The EBJIS definition is the most sensitive for PJI diagnosis.
- EBJIS accurately identifies cases with increased risk of subsequent PJI.
- The EBJIS definition is reliable for preoperative PJI exclusion.
Background And Purpose:
A new periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) definition has recently been proposed by the European Bone and Joint Infection Society (EBJIS). The goals of this paper are to evaluate its diagnostic accuracy and compare it with previous definitions and to assess its accuracy in preoperative diagnosis.
Patients And Methods:
We retrospectively evaluated a multicenter cohort of consecutive revision total hip and knee arthroplasties. Cases with minimum required diagnostic workup were classified according to EBJIS, 2018 International Consensus Meeting (ICM 2018), Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), and modified 2013 Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) definitions. 2 years' minimum follow-up was required to assess clinical outcome.
Results:
Of the 472 cases included, PJI was diagnosed in 195 (41%) cases using EBJIS; 188 (40%) cases using IDSA; 172 (36%) using ICM 2018; and 145 (31%) cases using MSIS. EBJIS defined fewer cases as intermediate (5% vs. 9%; p = 0.01) compared with ICM 2018. Specificity was determined by comparing risk of subsequent PJI after revision surgery. Infected cases were associated with higher risk of subsequent PJI in every definition. Cases classified as likely/confirmed infections using EBJIS among those classified as not infected in other definitions showed a significantly higher risk of subsequent PJI compared with concordant non-infected cases using MSIS (RR = 3, 95% CI 1-6), but not using ICM 2018 (RR = 2, CI 1-6) or IDSA (RR = 2, CI 1-5). EBJIS showed the highest agreement between pre-operative and definitive classification (k = 0.9, CI 0.8-0.9) and was better at ruling out PJI with an infection unlikely result (sensitivity 89% [84-93], negative predictive value 90% [85-93]).
Conclusion:
The newly proposed EBJIS definition emerged as the most sensitive of all major definitions. Cases classified as PJI according to the EBJIS criteria and not by other definitions seem to have increased risk of subsequent PJI compared with concordant non-infected cases. EBJIS classification is accurate in ruling out infection preoperatively.
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