IS INFECTION PREDICTABLE BEFORE REPEAT SURGERY AFTER TOTAL HIP ARTHROPLASTY? A PRELIMINARY STUDY WITH DEFINITION OF AN “INFECTION SCORE”

Aim The diagnosis of peri-prosthetic infection is sometimes difficult to assess, and there is no universal diagnostic test. The recommendations currently accepted include several diagnostic criteria, and are based mainly on the results of deep bacteriological samples, which only provide the diagnosis after surgery. A predictive score of the infection might improve the peri-operative management before repeat surgery after total hip arthroplasty (THA). The goal of this study was to attempt defining a composite score using conventional clinical, radiological and biological data that can be used to predict the positive and negative diagnosis of peri-prosthetic infection before repeat surgery after THA. The tested hypothesis was that the score thus defined allowed an accurate differentiation between infected and non-infected cases in more than 75% of the cases. Method 104 cases of repeat surgery for any cause after THA were analyzed retrospectively: 61 cases of infection and 43 cases without infection. There w...