Prosthetic Joint Infections — More Microbiologically Diverse Than Previously Thought?

Prosthetic joint infection (PJI), a severe complication of joint replacement surgery, is most commonly caused by Staphylococcus epidermidis or other coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS). According to current guidelines, diagnosis of PJI with pathogens other than S. aureus requires two positive biopsy cultures with phenotypically indistinguishable organisms as detected by standard microbiological techniques. However, CoNS show heterogeneity both in antibiotic susceptibility and phenotypic appearance and, as skin commensals, often contaminate cultures of tissue obtained during surgery. To shed some light on this dilemma, investigators compared results of more-sophisticated typing methods with standard microbiological techniques.

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