Different biomarker ratios in peripheral blood have limited value in diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection after total joint arthroplasty: a single-center, retrospective study.
Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a severe complication that can occur after total joint arthroplasty (TJA). The timely and accurate diagnosis of PJI is the key to treatment. This study investigated the diagnostic value of platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR), platelet count to mean platelet volume ratio (PVR), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR) in PJI after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA).
We performed a retrospective analysis of the patients who underwent revision hip or knee arthroplasty at our Institute between June 2015 and June 2020. Of the 187 patients reviewed, 168 were included in the study. According to the diagnostic criteria of the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS), 58 patients were in the PJI group, and 110 patients were in the aseptic loosening (AL) group. We recorded and compared the preoperative peripheral blood white blood cell (WBC) count, platelet count (PLT), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), C-reactive protein (CRP), PLR, PVR, NLR, and MLR in both groups. The diagnostic performance of the WBC, PLT, PLR, PVR, NLR, and MLR individually and in combination with the ESR and CRP for PJI diagnosis was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were calculated.
Compared to those in the AL group, the mean WBC, PLT, ESR, CRP, PLR, PVR, NLR, and MLR in the peripheral blood of the PJI group were significantly greater (P < 0.05). The analysis of the ROC curve revealed that the ESR, CRP, PLR, PVR, NLR, and MLR in peripheral blood had moderate effectiveness in diagnosing PJI, with area under the curve (AUC) values of 0.760 (95% CI: 0.688-0.823), 0.758 (95% CI: 0.687-0.821), 0.714 (95% CI: 0.639-0.781), 0.709 (95% CI: 0.634-0.777), 0.723 (95% CI: 0.649-0.789), and 0.728 (95% CI: 0.654-0.793), respectively. Conversely, the WBC and PLT counts demonstrated poor diagnostic value for PJI, with AUC values of 0.578 (95% CI: 0.499-0.653) and 0.694 (95% CI: 0.619-0.763), respectively. The results of the prediction model calculations revealed that the combined AUC of the WBC, PLT, ESR, CRP, PLR, PVR, NLR, and MLR was the highest at 0.853 (95% CI, 0.790-0.909), indicating good value in the diagnosis of PJI, with a sensitivity of 82.8% and a specificity of 72.7%. Moreover, the novel composite of parameters improved the accuracy and reliability in diagnosing PJI compared to the traditional biomarkers ESR and CRP (P = 0.015).
Our study suggested that the diagnostic value of the peripheral blood biomarkers PLR, PVR, NLR, and MLR for diagnosing PJI is limited and not superior to that of the ESR or CRP. However, when the WBC, PLT, ESR, CRP, PLR, PVR, NLR, and MLR are combined, the diagnostic performance of PJI in TJA patients can be improved.
Deng L
,Wang J
,Yang GY
,Hou YZ
,Li KW
,Sun B
,Wang SH
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《BMC MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS》
Albumin to Globulin ratio, Neutrophil to Lymphocyte ratio, and Globulin levels do not outperform ESR or CRP when diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection.
To evaluate the relative performance of clinical readouts including serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), globulin (GLB) levels, the albumin to GLB ratio (A/G), and the neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR) when diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection (PJI).
Clinical data was collected from 115 individuals diagnosed in our department between January 2017 and December 2020 with either chronic PJI (29 female, 24 male; median age 71.00 years [range, 41-94 years]) or aseptic loosening (30 female, 32 male; median age 68.50 years [range, 34-85 years]). Patient demographic data were compared, and the relative sensitivity and specificity of preoperative GLB, ESR, CRP, NLR, and A/G values as predictors of PJI diagnosis were assessed.
Median globulin levels in the PJI and aseptic groups were 31.700 g/L (interquartile range [IQR], 28.400-35.300) and 26.600 g/L (IQR, 24.375-30.550), respectively (p < 0.001). The median A/G values in the PJI and aseptic groups were 1.150 (IQR, 0.960-1.255) and 1.510 (IQR, 1.265-1.670), respectively (p < 0.001). The median NLR values in the PJI and aseptic groups were 2.510 (IQR, 1.900-3.335) and 1.850 (IQR, 1.425 to 2.362), respectively (p < 0.001). The median ESR values in the PJI and aseptic groups were 53.000 mm/h (IQR, 35.000-76.500) and 16.000 mm/h (IQR, 7.000-33.000), respectively (p < 0.001). Median CRP levels in the PJI and aseptic groups were 24.890 mg/L (IQR, 10.595-54.095) and 2.245 mg/L (IQR, 0.865-8.6075), respectively (p < 0.001). Area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) values for CRP, ESR, GLB, A/G, and NLR were 0.841 (95% confidence interval, 0.761-0.903), 0.850 (0.771-0.910), 0.747 (0.658-0.824), 0.779 (0.692-0.851), and 0.708 (0.616-0.789), respectively. When GLB > 26.6 g/L, A/G < 1.32, and NLR > 2.1 were utilized as threshold values to diagnose PJI, GLB and A/G were found to exhibit superior sensitivity (90.57%, 81.13%) to that observed for CRP (71.70%) and ESR (79.25%), but the specificity of these two metrics (GLB: 51.61%, A/G: 72.58%) was significantly reduced relative to that for CRP (87.10%) or ESR (75.81%). ROC analyses further revealed that NLR did not exhibit significant advantages in sensitivity (73.58%) or specificity (70.97%) relative to CRP or ESR.
Globulin levels, NLR values, and A/G values do not outperform ESR or CRP levels when used to diagnose PJI.
Jiao JB
,Huang JC
,Chen X
,Jin Y
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《BMC MUSCULOSKELETAL DISORDERS》