In their search for new, better ways to diagnose periprosthetic joint infection, Rothman Institute at Jefferson researchers have discovered that measurement of C-reactive protein in the synovial fluid is extremely accurate, while measuring a patients’ serum white blood cell count (WBC) and the percentage of neutrophils (PMN%), the conventional method for diagnosis, has a minimal role in the determination of PJI.

PARSIPPANY, N.J., Sept. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Fidia Farmaceutici S.p.A.

Joint injury can result in irreversible damage of cartilage which, despite treatment and surgery, often eventually leads to osteoarthritis (OA) in later life.

New research shows that polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for Borrelia burgdorferi DNA—the spirochetal bacteria transmitted by deer ticks—in joint fluid may confirm the diagnosis of Lyme arthritis, but is not a reliable indicator for active joint infection in patients whose arthritis persists after antibiotic therapy.

TAU researchers apply an industrial monitoring technique to orthopedic diagnoses.