Aims: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a serious complication of total joint arthroplasty. We performed a retrospective cohort study to evaluate (1) the change of coagulation profile in two-staged arthroplasty patients and (2) the relationship between coagulation profile and the outcomes of reimplantation.
Method: Between January 2011 and December 2018, a total of 202 PJI patients who were operated on with two-staged arthroplasty were included in this study initially. This study continued for 2 years and the corresponding medical records were scrutinized to establish the diagnosis of PJI based on the 2014 MSIS criteria. The coagulation profile was recorded at two designed points, (1) preresection and (2) preimplantation. The difference of coagulation profile between preresection and preimplantation was evaluated. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) were used to evaluate the diagnostic efficiency of the coagulation profile and change of coagulation profile for predicting persistent infection before reimplantation.
Results: The levels of APTT, INR, platelet count, PT, TT, and plasma fibrinogen before spacer implantation were significantly higher than before reimplantation. No significant difference was detected in the levels of D-dimer, ACT, and AT3 between the two groups. The AUC of the combined coagulation profile and the change of combined coagulation profile for predicting persistent infection before reimplantation was 0.667 (95% CI 0.511, 0.823) and 0.667 (95% CI 0.526, 0.808), respectively.
Conclusion: The coagulation profile before preresection is different from before preimplantation in two-staged arthroplasty and the coagulation markers may play a role in predicting infection eradication before reimplantation when two-stage arthroplasty is performed.
Level of evidence: Level III, diagnostic study.
Keywords: Activated partial thromboplastin time; Coagulation profile; Periprosthetic joint infection; Total joint arthroplasty; Two-staged arthroplasty.