Simultaneous Periprosthetic Joint Infection and Infective Endocarditis: Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Clinical...

Infective endocarditis (IE) and periprosthetic joint infections (PJI) occur due to hematogenous bacterial spread, theoretically increasing the risk for concurrent infections. There is a scarcity of literature investigating this specific association. We aimed to assess the prevalence, comorbidities, and clinical presentation of patients who have simultaneous PJI and IE.

We retrospectively identified 655 patients (321 men, 334 women; 382 total hip arthroplasty, 273 total knee arthroplasty) who developed a PJI from July 1, 2015, to December 31, 2020, at one institution. There were two groups created: patients diagnosed with PJI with IE (PJI + IE) and PJI patients who did not have IE (PJI). We analyzed clinical outcomes and comorbidities.

There were nine patients who had PJI with IE (1.4% of PJI patients). The C-reactive protein (170.9 versus 78, P = 0.026), Elixhauser comorbidity score (P = 0.002), length of hospital stay (10.9 versus 5.7 days, P = 0.043), and the 2-year postdischarge mortality rate (55.6 versus 9.0%, P = 0.0007) were significantly greater in the PJI + IE group. Comorbidities such as iron deficiency anemia (P = 0.03), coagulopathy (P = 0.02), complicated diabetes mellitus (P = 0.02), electrolyte disorders (P = 0.01), neurologic disease (P = 0.004), paralysis (P = 0.04), renal failure (P = 0.0001), and valvular disease (P = 0.0008) occurred more frequently in the PJI + IE group. Modified Duke's criteria were met for possible or definite IE in eight of the nine patients.

Concurrent PJIs and IE, although rare, are a potentially devastating disease state with increased length of hospital stay and 2-year mortality rates. This emphasizes the need for appropriate IE workups in patients who have a PJI. The modified Duke's criteria are effective in establishing a diagnosis for IE in this scenario.