Elevated ESR and CRP Prior to Second-Stage Reimplantation Knee Revision Surgery for Periprosthetic Joint Infection Are Associated with Increased Reinfection Rates

Purpose Although two-stage revision surgery is considered as the most effective treatment for managing chronic periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), there is no current consensus on the predictors of optimal timing to second-stage reimplantation. This study aimed to compare clinical outcomes between patients with elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein (CRP) prior to second-stage reimplantation and those with normalized ESR and CRP prior to second-stage reimplantation. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 198 patients treated with two-stage revision total knee arthroplasty for chronic PJI. Cohorts included patients with: (1) normal level of serum ESR and CRP ( n =96) and (2) elevated level of serum ESR and CRP prior to second-stage reimplantation ( n =102). Outcomes including reinfection rates and readmission rates were compared between both cohorts. Result At a mean follow-up of 4.4 years (2.8-6.5 years), the elevated ESR and CRP cohort demonstrated significantly higher reinfection rates compared with patients with normalized ESR and CRP prior to second-stage reimplantation (33.3% vs. 14.5%, p <0.01). Patients with both elevated ESR and CRP demonstrated significantly higher reinfection rates, when compared with patients with elevated ESR and normalized CRP (33.3% vs. 27.6%, p =0.02) as well as normalized ESR and elevated CRP (33.3% vs. 26.3%, p <0.01). Conclusion This study demonstrates that elevated serum ESR and/or CRP levels prior to reimplantation in two-stage knee revision surgery for chronic PJI are associated with increased reinfection rate after surgery. Elevation of both ESR and CRP were associated with a higher risk of reinfection compared with elevation of either ESR or CRP, suggesting the potential benefits of normalizing ESR and CRP prior to reimplantation in treatment of chronic PJI.