The Utility of Synovial Fluid Interleukin-10 in Diagnosing Chronic Periprosthetic Joint Infection: A Prospective...

Diagnosing chronic periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is challenging. Synovial fluid interleukin-10 (SF IL-10), an anti-inflammatory cytokine produced by leukocytes, plays a pivotal role in inflammation and infection regulation. However, limited research has explored the diagnostic potential of SF IL-10 in chronic PJI patients.

The study aimed to investigate the relationship between SF IL-10 and incidence of chronic PIJ, and to evaluate its diagnostic reliability.

We analyzed data from 137 patients who underwent revision surgery for aseptic loosening or chronic PJI between 2017 and 2019 in our hospital. PJI diagnoses followed the 2013 International Consensus Meeting criteria. We measured serum ESR, serum CRP, SF PMN%, SF WBC and SF IL-10 levels, using logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves to evaluate associations and diagnostic accuracy.

Demographic data showed no significant differences. However, SF IL-10 levels differed significantly between groups. Logistic regression indicated a strong association between SF IL-10 and chronic PJI (OR = 1.11, 95% CI 1.05~1.17, p < 0.001). At a cut-off of 10.305 pg/mL, SF IL-10 had an area under the ROC curve (AUC) of 0.891, with 92.16% sensitivity and 77.91% specificity. Adding SF IL-10 to traditional models improved risk prediction for chronic PJI (net reclassification improvement [NRI]: 0.167 [0.023 ~ 0.312]; integrated discrimination improvement [IDI]: 0.160 [0.096 ~ 0.224]).

Higher SF IL-10 levels were significantly associated with chronic PJI in revision surgery patients, and incorporating SF IL-10 into the traditional risk model enhanced its predictive value for chronic PJI in these patients.