Aims. To assess the diagnostic value of C-reactive protein (CRP), leucocyte count (LC), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in late fracture-related infection (FRI). Materials and Methods. PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched focusing on the diagnostic value of CRP, LC, and ESR in late FRI. Sensitivity and specificity combinations were extracted for each marker. Average estimates were obtained using bivariate mixed effects models. Results. A total of 8284 articles were identified but only six were suitable for inclusion. Sensitivity of CRP ranged from 60.0% to 100.0% and specificity from 34.3% to 85.7% in all publications considered. Five articles were pooled for meta-analysis, showing a sensitivity and specificity of 77.0% and 67.9%, respectively. For LC, this was 22.9% to 72.6%, and 73.5% to 85.7%, respectively, in five articles. Four articles were pooled for meta-analysis, resulting in a 51.7% sensitivity and 67.1% specificity. For ESR, sensitivity and specificity ranged from 37.1% to 100.0% and 59.0% to 85.0%, respectively, in five articles. Three articles were pooled in meta-analysis, showing a 45.1% sensitivity and 79.3% specificity. Four articles analyzed the value of combined inflammatory markers, reporting an increased diagnostic accuracy. These results could not be pooled due to heterogeneity. Conclusion. The serum inflammatory markers CRP, LC, and ESR are insufficiently accurate to diagnose late FRI, but they may be used as a suggestive sign in its diagnosis

The diagnosis of infection following shoulder arthroplasty is notoriously difficult. The prevalence of prosthetic shoulder infection after arthroplasty ranges from 3.9 – 15.4% and the most common infective organism is Cutibacterium acnes. Current preoperative diagnostic tests fail to provide a reliable means of diagnosis including WBC, ESR, CRP and joint aspiration. Fluoroscopic-guided percutaneous synovial biopsy (PSB) has previously been reported in the context of a pilot study and demonstrated promising results. The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of percutaneous synovial biopsy compared with open culture results (gold standard). This was a multicenter prospective cohort study involving four sites and 98 patients who underwent revision shoulder arthroplasty. The cohort was 60% female with a mean age was 65 years (range 36-83 years). Enrollment occurred between June 2014 and November 2021. Pre-operative fluoroscopy-guided synovial biopsies were carried out by musculoskeletal radiologists prior to revision surgery. A minimum of five synovial capsular tissue biopsies were obtained from five separate regions in the shoulder. Revision shoulder arthroplasty was performed by fellowship-trained shoulder surgeons. Intraoperative tissue samples were taken from five regions of the joint capsule during revision surgery. Of 98 patients who underwent revision surgery, 71 patients underwent both the synovial biopsy and open biopsy at time of revision surgery. Nineteen percent had positive infection based on PSB, and 22% had confirmed culture positive infections based on intra-operative tissue sampling. The diagnostic accuracy of PSB compared with open biopsy results were as follows: sensitivity 0.37 (95%CI 0.13-0.61), specificity 0.81 (95%CI 0.7-0.91), positive predictive value 0.37 (95%CI 0.13 – 0.61), negative predictive value 0.81 (95%CI 0.70-0.91), positive likelihood ratio 1.98 and negative likelihood ratio 0.77. A patient with a positive pre-operative PSB undergoing revision surgery had an 37% probability of having true positive infection. A patient with a negative pre-operative PSB has an 81% chance of being infection-free. PSB appears to be of value mainly in ruling out the presence of peri-prosthetic infection. However, poor likelihood ratios suggest that other ancillary tests are required in the pre-operative workup of the potentially infected patient

Aim. Diagnosing Fracture-Related Infections (FRI) is challenging. White blood cell (WBC) scintigraphy is considered the best nuclear imaging technique to diagnose FRI; a recent study by our group found a diagnostic accuracy of 92%. However, many centers use . 18. F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (. 18. F-FDG-PET/CT) which has several logistic advantages. Whether . 18. F-FDG-PET/CT has better diagnostic performance than white blood cell (WBC) scintigraphy is uncertain. Therefore, we aimed: 1) to determine the diagnostic performance of . 18. F-FDG-PET/CT for diagnosing FRI (defined as infection following an open fracture or fracture surgery) and 2) to determine cut-off values of standardized uptake values (SUV) that result in optimal diagnostic performance. Method. This retrospective cohort study included all consecutive patients who received . 18. F-FDG-PET/CT to diagnose FRI in two level 1 trauma centers. Baseline demographic- and surgical characteristics were retrospectively reviewed. The reference standard consisted of at least 2 representative microbiological culture results or the presence or absence of clinical confirmatory FRI signs in at least 6 months of clinical follow-up. A nuclear medicine specialist, blinded to the reference standard, re-reviewed all scans. Additionally, SUVs were measured using the “European Association of Nuclear Medicine Research Ltd. (EARL)” reconstructed . 18. F-FDG-PET/CT scans. Volume of interests were drawn around the suspected- and corresponding contralateral area to obtain the absolute values (SUVmax) and the ratio between suspected and contralateral area (SUVratio). Diagnostic accuracy of the re-reviewed scans was calculated (sensitivity and specificity). Additionally, diagnostic characteristics of the SUV measurements were plotted in the area under the receiver operating characteristics curve (AUROC). The sensitivity and specificity at the optimal threshold was deducted from the AUROC with the Q-point method. Results. 158 . 18. F-FDG-PET/CTs were included. Mean age was 46.2 years, 71.5% was male. Most cases (56.3%) were tibial shaft- or ankle fractures. Sixty patients (38.0%) had FRI. The sensitivity and specificity of the FDG-PET/CT scan was 70.0% (95% CI 56.8–81.2) and 79.6% (95% CI 70.3–87.1) respectively. Diagnostic accuracy was 76.0% (95% CI 68.5–82.4). AUROCs of SUVmax and SUVratio were 0.80 (95% CI 0.73–0.87) and 0.73 (95% CI 0.64–0.81), respectively. The optimal SUVmax threshold of 4.2 resulted in 80.0% sensitivity and 71.3% specificity, while an SUVratio of 2.9 resulted in 58.3% sensitivity and 80.9% specificity. Conclusions. The . 18. F-FDG-PET/CT has a sensitivity of 70.0%, specificity of 79.6% and a diagnostic accuracy of 76.0%. This makes . 18. F-FDG-PET/CT less accurate than WBC scintigraphy in diagnosing FRI, although adding SUV measurements may possibly increase its diagnostic accuracy

Background. The development of T-smart tomosynthesis has greatly improved the imaging quality of THA by reducing the peri-implant artifacts. In order to find out whether these improvements could lead to diagnostic advantages on stability of cementless THA arthroplasty components, we conducted a diagnostic research by comparing T-smart tomosynthesis, X-ray, and computed tomography. Methods. We retrospectively included 48 patients who undergone THA revisions in our center between Aug, 2013 and Mar, 2014. For patients with hybrid fixation as their primary prosthesis, the femoral or acetabular components with cement fixation were excluded. There were 41 cementless femoral stems and 35 cementless acetabular cups remained for evaluation. All patients took anterior-posterior and lateral view x-ray examination, anterior-posterior T-smart tomosynthesis scan, and computed tomography before revision surgery. As the gold standard, intraoperative pull-out tests and twisting tests were done for every patient to examine the stability of all implants. 7 orthopedic surgeons evaluated the preoperative images independently, who were divided into the senior group (3 doctors with 6∼13 years’ clinical experience) and the junior group (4 doctors with 2∼4 years’ clinical experience). The x-rays were evaluated first, followed by computed tomography 4 weeks later, and after another 4 weeks’ interval the T-smart tomosynthesis were assessed. All doctors used the same criteria for diagnosis. Diagnostic accuracy for each imaging examination was calculated by comparing with the results of intraoperative tests. The diagnostic accuracy, kappa values between 3 imaging techniques were calculated, and chi-square tests were conducted to examine the difference between the senior and junior groups for each technique. Results. The accuracy of T-smart tomosynthesis on stability diagnosis (loosening or stable) is 82.6% for femoral stem and 84.5% for acetabular cup. The accuracy of X-ray is 44.3% for stem and 67.3% for cup, and the accuracy of CT is 39.6% for stem and 74.6% for cup. The kappa values between the 3 techniques range from −0.053 to 0.22. For plain X-ray, The diagnostic accuracy of the senior group is significantly higher than that of the junior group (p<0.05), but no significance was found between the 2 groups for tomosynthesis and CT. Discussion. Our research indicates that, compared with x-ray and CT, the T-smart tomosynthesis technique can greatly improve the diagnostic accuracy on stability of cementless THA components, and significantly shorten the learning curve of inexperienced surgeons. With T-smart tomosynthesis, the peri-implant trabecular bone can be clearly imaged with least metal artifacts ever. T-smart tomosynthesis is an effective and promising imaging technique for diagnosing the stability of THA components

Background: Clinical tests used for the detection of knee meniscal tears do not present acceptable diagnostic sensitivity and specificity values. Diagnostic accuracy is improved by arthroscopic evaluation or performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) tests. The objective of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of a new dynamic clinical examination test for the detection of meniscal tears. Methods: Two hundred and thirteen symptomatic patients with recent knee injuries who all were clinically examined, had MRI tests and underwent arthroscopic surgery and 197 asymptomatic volunteers who all were clinically examined and had MRI tests of their normal knees were included in this study. For clinical examination the medial and lateral joint line tenderness test, McMurray test, Apley compression and distraction test, Thessaly test at 5° and Thessaly test at 20° of flexion were used. For al clinical tests sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value and diagnostic accuracy rates were calculated against arthroscopic and magnetic resonance imaging data. Results: Thessaly test at 20° of flexion showed a high diagnostic accuracy rate at the level of 94% and a low number of false negative recordings in detecting tears of both the medial and lateral meniscus. Other traditional clinical examination tests, with the exception of joint line tenderness which presented a diagnostic accuracy rate of 88% in detecting lateral meniscal tears, showed inferior rates. Conclusions: Thessaly test at 20° of flexion can be safely used as a first line screening clinical test for the detection of meniscal tears reducing the need and the cost of modern magnetic resonance imaging methods

Aim. White blood cell (WBC) scintigraphy for diagnosing fracture-related infections (FRIs) has only been investigated in small patient series. Aims of this study were (1) to establish the accuracy of WBC scintigraphy for diagnosing FRIs, and (2) to investigate whether the duration of the time interval between surgery and WBC scintigraphy influences its accuracy. Method. 192 consecutive WBC scintigraphies with . 99m. Tc-HMPAO-labelled autologous leucocytes performed for suspected peripheral FRI were included. The goldstandard was based on the outcome of microbiological investigation in case of surgery, or - when these were not available - on clinical follow-up of at least six months. The discriminative ability of the imaging modalities was quantified by several measures of diagnostic accuracy. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictive variables of a false-positive or false-negative WBC scintigraphy test result. Results. WBC scintigraphy had a sensitivity of 0.79, a specificity of 0.97, a positive predicting value of 0.91, a negative predicting value of 0.93 and a diagnostic accuracy of 0.92 for detecting an FRI in the peripheral skeleton. The duration of the interval between surgery and the WBC scintigraphy did not influence its diagnostic accuracy; neither did concomitant use of antibiotics or NSAIDs. There were 11 patients with a false-negative (FN) WBC scintigraphy, the majority of these patients (n = 9, 82%) suffered from an infected nonunion. Four patients had a false-positive (FP) WBC scintigraphy. Conclusions. WBC scintigraphy showed a high diagnostic accuracy (0.92) for detecting FRIs in the peripheral skeleton. Duration of the time interval between surgery for the initial injury and the WBC did not influence the results which indicate that WBC scintigraphy is accurate shortly after surgery

Introduction. Knee Osteoarthritis (KOA) is a prevalent joint disease requiring accurate diagnosis and prompt management. The condition occurs due to cartilage deterioration and bone remodeling. Ultrasonography has emerged as a promising modality for diagnosing KOA. Medial meniscus extrusion (MME), characterized by displacement of medial meniscus beyond the joint line has been recognized as a significant marker of KOA progression. This study aimed to explore potentials Ultrasound findings in timely detection of MME and compare it to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a reference standard. Method. A comprehensive literature search was performed in 4 databases from inception to May 1 2024. Two independent reviewers, initiated screening protocols and selected the articles based on inclusion and exclusion criteria and then extracted the data. Meta-analysis was conducted using R 4.3.2 packages mada and metafor. Result. A total of 2500 articles from 4 databases was retrieved; however, following the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria 23 articles were finally extracted. These studies collectively encompassed a total of 777 patients with mean age of 53.2±7.4. The mean BMI calculated for patients was 28.31 ± 2.45. All patients underwent non-weight bearing knee ultrasonography in supine position with 0° flexion. The reported medial meniscus extrusion was 2.58 mm for articles using MRI and 2.65 mm for those using Ultrasound (MD: 0.05 ± 0.12, P= 0.65, I. 2. : 54%). Our meta-analysis revealed insignificant difference between US and MRI. (SMD: 0.03, 95% CI: -0.18 _0.23, P= 0.77, I. 2. : 56%) Meta analysis for diagnostic accuracy measures yielded a pooled sensitivity and specificity of 90.8% and 77% (95% CI: 84.2% – 94.8%, 35.5% – 95.3%, respectively, I. 2. : 44%). Conclusion. Our results indicate a close alignment in the accuracy of measurements obtained using Ultrasound modality. The narrow range suggests a minimal discrepancy in MME values between MRI and ultrasound, highlighting their comparable precision in diagnostic assessments

Aim. Prompt recognition and identification of the causative microorganism in acute septic arthritis of native and prosthetic joints is vital to increase the chances of successful treatment. The aim of this study was to independently assess the diagnostic accuracy of the multiplex BIOFIRE® Joint Infection (JI) Panel (investigational use only) in synovial fluid for rapid diagnosis. Method. Synovial fluid samples were prospectively collected at the University Medical Center Groningen from patients who had a clinical suspicion of a native septic arthritis, early acute (post-operative, within 3 months after arthroplasty) periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) or late acute (hematogenous) PJI. JI Panel results were compared to culture-based methods as reference standard. Results. A total of 45 samples were analyzed. The BIOFIRE JI Panel showed a high specificity (100%, 95% CI 73 – 100) and positive predictive value (100%, 95% CI 79 – 100) in all patient categories. Sensitivity and negative predictive value were 83% (95% CI 36 – 99) and 88% (95% CI 47 – 99) respectively for patients with a clinical suspicion of native septic arthritis (n=12), 77% (95% CI: 46 – 94) and 63% (95% CI: 26 – 90) for patients with a clinical suspicion of a late acute PJI (n=14), and 27% (95% CI 7 – 61) and 27% (95% CI: 7 – 61) for patients with a clinical suspicion of an early acute PJI (n=19). Conclusions. The results of this pilot study indicate a clear clinical benefit of the BIOFIRE JI Panel in patients with a suspected native septic arthritis and late acute (hematogenous) PJI, but a low clinical benefit in patients with an early acute (post-operative) PJI due to the absence of low-grade microorganisms in the panel

Aims. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the synovial alpha-defensin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the diagnosis of prosthetic joint infection (PJI) in the work-up prior to revision of total hip (THA) and knee arthroplasty (TKA). Patients and Methods. Inclusion criteria for this prospective cohort study were acute or chronic symptoms of the index joint without specific exclusion criteria. Synovial fluid aspirates of 202 patients were analyzed and semiquantitative laboratory alpha-defensin ELISA was performed. Final diagnosis of PJI was established by examination of samples obtained during revision surgery. Results. Sensitivity and specificity of the alpha-defensin ELISA for PJI were 78.2% (95% confidence interval (CI) 66.7 to 88.5) and 96.6% (95% CI 93.0 to 99.3). Positive and negative predictive values were 89.6% (95% CI 80.6 to 97.8) and 92.2% (95% CI 87.5 to 96.1). The test remained false-negative in 22% of septic revisions, most of which were due to coagulase-negative staphylococci all occurring in either late-chronic or early-postoperative PJI. Conclusion. The routine use of synovial fluid alpha-defensin laboratory ELISA in the preoperative evaluation of symptomatic THAs and TKAs is insufficient to accurately diagnose PJI. Particularly in cases involving low-virulence organisms, such as coagulase-negative staphylococci, there remains a need for tests with a higher sensitivity. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2019;101-B:970–977

Background and Objectives. Triangular fibrocartilaginous complex (TFCC) tears are common sources of ulna sided wrist pain and resultant functional disability. Diagnosis is based on history, clinical examination and radiological evidence of a TFCC central perforation or radial/ulna tear. The purpose of this study is therefore to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Magnetic Resonance Arthrography (MRA) in the detection of TFCC injury in the adult population. Methods. Published and unpublished literature databases were systematically review independently by two researchers. Two-by-two tables were constructed to calculate the sensitivity and specificity of MRI or MRA investigations against arthroscopic outcomes. Pooled sensitivity and specificity values and summary Receiver Operating Characteristic curve (sROC) evaluations were performed. Methodological quality of each study was assessed using the QUADAS (Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies) tool. Results. Twenty one studies were eligible, including 910 wrists. On meta-analysis, MRA was superior to MRI in the investigation of complete TFCC tears with a pooled sensitivity of 0.75 (95% Confidence Interval (CI): 0.70, 0.79) and specificity of 0.81 (95% CI: 0.76, 0.86), compared to MRAs 0.84 (95% CI: 0.79, 0.89), and 0.95 (95% CI: 0.92, 0.98) respectively. MRA and MRI performed at greater field strengths reported greater sensitivity and specificity findings. For 3.0 Tesla (T) MRI, the meta-analysis indicated a sensitivity of 0.86 (95% CI: 0.65, 0.97), and specificity of 1.00 (0.87, 1.00). In comparison, the pooled sensitivity for the 1.5T MRI assessment was 0.70 (95% CI: 0.64, 0.75) and specificity of 0.79 (95% CI: 0.72, 0.85). This trend was repeated for MRA where 3.0T MRA exhibited a sensitivity was 1.00 (95% CI: 0.79, 1.00) and specificity of 1.00 (95% CI: 0.82, 1.00), whilst pooled analysis 1.5T MRA demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.83 (95% CI: 0.78, 0.89) and specificity of 0.95 (95% CI: 0.91, 0.98). There was insufficient data to assess the diagnostic test accuracy of partial TFCC lesions. Conclusions. Given its acceptable diagnostic test accuracy, it is recommended that in cases where there are questions over the diagnosis and subsequent management of patients with ulna wrist pain, a MRA should be undertaken rather than MRI

Böhler’s historical tuber-joint angle of the calcaneus has been used since 1931. Surprisingly, there is a paucity of literature on the topic. The aims of this study were to confirm the normal range for Böhler’s angle and determine the angle with the highest accuracy in the diagnosis of calcaneal fractures. A retrospective cohort study was performed. Data were obtained from The St George Hospital digital Picture Archival and Communication System (PACS) and through a review of medical records. The study cohort comprised 212 consecutive patients diagnosed with calcaneal fractures on CT scan, spanning a five-year period from April 2003 to March 2008. An additional 212 patients with normal lateral foot radiographs were used to determine the normal range. Böhler’s angle was measured by two independent observers on lateral xray using the digital angle tool from PACS. Data were analysed using Stata 8 statistical software package. This is the largest study to our knowledge that examines the diagnostic accuracy of Böhler’s angle in fractures of the calcaneus. Contrary to many texts but true to Böhler’s assertions, the mean Böhler’s angle in patients without calcaneal fracture was 29.4 degrees (95% CI, 28.9–30.0 degrees). In this group there was no difference in Böhler’s angle between male and female patients (p> .05), left and right feet (p> .05) or across age (ANOVA, p> .05). In those patients with calcaneal fractures, a Böhler’s angle below 25 degrees was moderately predictive of calcaneal fracture (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 82%, PPV = 85%, NPV = 100%, LR+ = 5), an angle below 23 degrees was highly predictive of calcaneal fracture (sensitivity = 100%, specificity = 89%, PPV = 90%, NPV = 100%, LR+ = 9) and an angle below 21 degrees was strongly suggestive of calcaneal fracture (sensitivity = 99%, specificity = 99%, PPV = 99%, NPV = 99%, LR+ = 110). A Böhler’s angle of less than or equal to 20 degrees had the highest diagnostic accuracy as there were only two false negatives and one false positive from a total of 424 patients. A Böhler’s angle of 20 degrees or less is highly accurate in determining the presence or absence of calcaneal fracture. These findings are of particular importance when fracture is uncertain as it gives the surgeon a definitive reference point when using Böhler’s angle for assessment of fracture of the calcaneus

Aims. Abnormal femoral torsion (FT) is increasingly recognized as an additional cause for femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). It is unknown if in-toeing of the foot is a specific diagnostic sign for increased FT in patients with symptomatic FAI. The aims of this study were to determine: 1) the prevalence and diagnostic accuracy of in-toeing to detect increased FT; 2) if foot progression angle (FPA) and tibial torsion (TT) are different among patients with abnormal FT; and 3) if FPA correlates with FT. Patients and Methods. A retrospective, institutional review board (IRB)-approved, controlled study of 85 symptomatic patients (148 hips) with FAI or hip dysplasia was performed in the gait laboratory. All patients had a measurement of FT (pelvic CT scan), TT (CT scan), and FPA (optical motion capture system). We allocated all patients to three groups with decreased FT (< 10°, 37 hips), increased FT (> 25°, 61 hips), and normal FT (10° to 25°, 50 hips). Cluster analysis was performed. Results. We found a specificity of 99%, positive predictive value (PPV) of 93%, and sensitivity of 23% for in-toeing (FPA < 0°) to detect increased FT > 25°. Most of the hips with normal or decreased FT had no in-toeing (false-positive rate of 1%). Patients with increased FT had significantly (p < 0.001) more in-toeing than patients with decreased FT. The majority of the patients (77%) with increased FT walk with a normal foot position. The correlation between FPA and FT was significant (r = 0.404, p < 0.001). Five cluster groups were identified. Conclusion. In-toeing has a high specificity and high PPV to detect increased FT, but increased FT can be missed because of the low sensitivity and high false-negative rate. These results can be used for diagnosis of abnormal FT in patients with FAI or hip dysplasia undergoing hip arthroscopy or femoral derotation osteotomy. However, most of the patients with increased FT walk with a normal foot position. This can lead to underestimation or misdiagnosis of abnormal FT. We recommend measuring FT with CT/MRI scans in all patients with FAI. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2019;101-B:1218–1229

Magnetic Resonance Imaging is increasingly utilised for the assessment of knee pathology. The aim of this study was to review our entire knee MRI scans and to assess the accuracy of diagnosis when compared with operative diagnosis. Using data from the radiology department and medical records (public and private) all patients having knee MRI scans in a 6-year period were identified. There were 956 scans performed on 930 patients. Scan diagnosis, operative diagnosis and diagnostic accuracy were assessed. Of the scanned patients 181 (19.5%) had normal scans and of these 168 (92.8%) were accurately diagnosed as normal. The remaining 749 (80.5%) had an abnormality noted on scan and of these 298 (39.8%) proceeded on to surgery. Of those patients having surgery, diagnosis at surgery was found to exactly match the results of the scan in 163 (57.0%) patients. Furthermore 51.5% of patients with a diagnosis of meniscal degeneration by scan actually had a meniscal tear at operation. However the sensitivity for diagnosis of ACL tears was 89.0% and that of medial meniscal tears was 90.6%. MRI diagnosis is far from infallible and clinicians should be conscious of its limitations. However it is particularly reliable in confirming the lack of pathology within a knee with an accuracy of 93%. It also has high sensitivity for diagnosis of ACL and meniscal tears

Aim. Fracture related infection (FRI) remains a challenging diagnosis in orthopedic and trauma surgery. In addition to clinical signs and imaging, serum inflammatory markers are often used to estimate the probability of FRI. To what extent serum inflammatory markers can be used to rule out and diagnose FRI remains unclear. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the diagnostic value of the serum inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP), leukocyte count (LC) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) in suspected fracture related infection. Method. PubMed, Embase and Cochrane databases were searched for all articles focusing on the diagnostic value of CRP, LC and ESR in FRI. Studies on other inflammatory markers or other types of orthopedic infection, such as periprosthetic and diabetic foot infections, were excluded. For each serum inflammatory marker, all reported sensitivity and specificity combinations were extracted and graphically visualized. Average estimates were obtained using bivariate mixed effects models. This study utilized the QUADAS-2 criteria and was reported following the PRISMA statement. Results. The search resulted in 8280 articles, of which seven were eligible for inclusion. One study was excluded after quality assessment. CRP was reported in all included studies, with sensitivity ranging from 60.0 to 100.0% and specificity from 34.3 to 85.7%. Five of these studies were pooled. The average pooled sensitivity and specificity of CRP were, respectively, 77.0% (95% CI 66.5–85.0%) and 67.9% (95% CI 38.7–87.6%). LC was reported in five studies. Sensitivity ranged from 22.9 to 72.6% and specificity from 73.5 to 85.7%. The results of four of these studies were pooled, resulting in a 51.7% (95% CI 27.2–75.5%) sensitivity and 67.1% (95% CI 19.3–50.2%) specificity. ESR was reported in five studies. Sensitivity and specificity ranged from 37.1 to 100.0% and 59.0 to 85.0% respectively. Three of these studies were pooled, showing a 45.1% (95% CI 37.8–52.6%) sensitivity and 79.3% (95% CI 71.7–85.2%) specificity of ESR. Four studies analyzed the combined value of inflammatory markers, reporting an increased diagnostic accuracy. These results could not be pooled due to heterogeneity. Conclusions. The serum inflammatory markers CRP, LC and ESR are insufficiently accurate to diagnose FRI. These markers cannot rule out the presence of FRI, but they may be used as a suggestive sign in the diagnosis of FRI

Aim. Our goal is to increase diagnostic accuracy of synovial fluid testing in differentiating prosthetic joint infection(PJI) by more exhaustively studying simple and inexpensive biomarkers. For that purpose, we sought to determine: 1) if synovial fluid C-reactive protein(CRP), alpha-2-macrogloblulin(A2M), procalcitonin and adenosine deaminase(ADA) concentrations are different between infected and aseptic cases; 2) performance and optimal cutoff values of each marker; 3) whether any such test may help improve diagnostic performance of traditional leukocyte count. Method. Between January/2013 and December/2015 total hip or knee arthroplasty revision cases (regardless of preoperative diagnosis) were prospectively included provided enough synovial fluid for biomarker analysis was collected and at least four tissue samples as well as the implant for sonication were gathered for microbiological study. Definitive diagnosis was classified as infection or aseptic on the basis of the recent International Consensus Meeting definition of PJI. Using receiver operating characteristic curves, we determined cutoff values as well as sensitivity and specificity for each marker. Results. Fifty-five out of 143 revision arthroplasties fully respected the inclusion criteria. Two supposedly aseptic cases were ultimately classified as infected resulting in 32 aseptic and 23 infected cases available for analysis. Total leukocyte count, proportion of PMN, C-reactive protein, ADA and alpha-2-macroglobulin but not procalcitonin were significantly different between both groups. Cutoff values for optimal performance in the diagnosis of infection were: total leukocyte count >1,463 cells/μL; proportion of PMN >81%; CRP >6.7mg/L and ADA >61U/L. Conclusions. Synovial fluid leukocyte count offers great negative predictive value and interpreting it together with other more specific markers such as C-reactive protein and ADA is helpful in improving its positive predictive value. These simple and inexpensive markers may reduce the number of equivocal synovial fluid results requiring more expensive investigation

Classification systems for tibial plateau fractures suffer from poor interobserver agreement, and their value in preoperative assessment to guide surgical fixation strategies is limited. For tibial plateau fractures four major characteristics are identified: lateral split fragment, posteromedial fragment, anterior tubercle fragment, and central zone of comminution. These fracture characteristics support preoperative assessment of fractures and guide surgical decision-making as each specific component requires a respective fixation strategy. We aimed to evaluate the additional value of 3D-printed models for the identification of tibial plateau fracture characteristics in terms of the interobserver agreement on different fracture characteristics.

Preoperative images of 40 patients were randomly selected. Nine trauma surgeons, eight senior and eight junior registrars indicated the presence or absence of four fracture characteristics with and without 3D-printed models. The Fleiss kappa was used to determine interobserver agreement for fracture classification and for interpretation, the Landis and Koch criteria were used.

3D-printed models lead to a categorical improvement in interobserver agreement for three of four fracture characteristics: lateral split (Kconv = 0.445 versus K3Dprint = 0.620; P < 0.001), anterior tubercle fragment (Kconv = 0.288 versus K3Dprint = 0.449; P < 0.001) and zone of comminution (Kconv = 0.535 versus K3Dprint = 0.652; P < 0.001).

The overall interobserver agreement improved for three of four fracture characteristics after the addition of 3D printed models. For two fracture characteristics, lateral split and zone of comminution, a substantial interobserver agreement was achieved.

Fracture characteristics seem to be a more reliable way to assess tibial plateau fractures and one should consider including these in the preoperative assessment of tibial plateau fractures compared to the commonly used classification systems.

Pre-operative definitive diagnosis of infection in painful total hip arthroplasty (THA) is not always easy to be established, making the intra-operative decision-making process crucial in management of revision hip surgery. Calprotectin is a promising point-of-care novel biomarker that has displayed high accuracy in detecting PJIs.

From November 2020 to December 2022, 105 patients with painful primary THA were treated with revision THA in 3 orthopaedic departments. Pre-operatively, 23 were considered infected and treated with two-stage revision THA. The remaining 82 were likely infected according to the 2019 EBJIS criteria. The suspicion of low-grade infection was based on clinical (rest and/or night pain), laboratory (CRP, ESR, WBC – normal or slightly elevated) and radiological evaluation (loosening). Hip aspiration under CT imaging was performed in these cases and 34 of them yielded positive culture and were treated with two-stage revision. Aspiration was ineffective in the remaining 48 cases (33 negative, 15 unsuccessful attempts). Intra-operatively, calprotectin was measured with lateral flow immunoassay test in these patients. Cases with calprotectin levels ≥ 50 mg/L were treated with 2-stage revision THA; otherwise, they were considered not-infected and one-stage revision was performed. Synovial fluid and tissue samples were collected for analysis. Implants were sent for sonication fluid cultures.

Calprotectin was positive (≥ 50 mg/L) in 27 cases and negative in 21 cases. There was 1 false negative case with positive tissue cultures. Out of the 27 positive cases, 25 had positive tissue cultures and sonication. However, 2 cases with high calprotectin levels (>200 mg/L) were not infected. The false positive result was attributed to severe metallosis. Calprotectin sensitivity was 96.2%, specificity 90.9%, PPV 92.6%, NPV 95.2%, AUC 0.935.

The results of this ongoing study indicate that calprotectin seems to be a valuable tool in facilitating the intra-operative decision-making process in cases that low-grade infection is suspected and diagnosis cannot be established pre-operatively.

Aims. The aim of this study was to create artificial intelligence (AI) software with the purpose of providing a second opinion to physicians to support distal radius fracture (DRF) detection, and to compare the accuracy of fracture detection of physicians with and without software support. Methods. The dataset consisted of 26,121 anonymized anterior-posterior (AP) and lateral standard view radiographs of the wrist, with and without DRF. The convolutional neural network (CNN) model was trained to detect the presence of a DRF by comparing the radiographs containing a fracture to the inconspicuous ones. A total of 11 physicians (six surgeons in training and five hand surgeons) assessed 200 pairs of randomly selected digital radiographs of the wrist (AP and lateral) for the presence of a DRF. The same images were first evaluated without, and then with, the support of the CNN model, and the diagnostic accuracy of the two methods was compared. Results. At the time of the study, the CNN model showed an area under the receiver operating curve of 0.97. AI assistance improved the physician’s sensitivity (correct fracture detection) from 80% to 87%, and the specificity (correct fracture exclusion) from 91% to 95%. The overall error rate (combined false positive and false negative) was reduced from 14% without AI to 9% with AI. Conclusion. The use of a CNN model as a second opinion can improve the diagnostic accuracy of DRF detection in the study setting. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2024;13(10):588–595

The use of peritumoral oedema on magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to predict soft tissue tumour grade is controversial. The clinical significance of oedema visualised on MR scans is poorly defined in the literature. We undertook this study to ascertain a diagnostic relationship between peritumoral oedema surrounding soft tissue sarcomas and the histological grade of the tumour. One hundred and ten consecutive soft tissue tumours were extracted from the New Zealand Bone and Soft Tissue Tumour Registry. Key inclusion criteria were tumours deep to fascia, measuring more than 5cm in any dimension. Both benign and malignant sarcomas were included. MR scans and histology were reviewed, separately and in random order by a single author. Histology was graded as benign, low or high grade (based on the American Joint Committee on Cancer grading system). Peritumoral oedema was defined as the increased signal intensity, on T2 or STIR images, immediately surrounding a discrete lesion. It was measured on two or more planes with the largest value used in diagnostic calculations. Oedema greater than or equal to 20mm was defined as a positive test result. Twenty five random scans were double read to ensure inter-observer reliability. Data was obtained for 83 tumours, 36 benign and 47 malignant (34 high grade and 13 low grade). The tumours in all groups were matched for size. The mean peritumoral oedema was 10.5mm for benign tumours, 20.6mm for low grade sarcomas (p<0.1), 28.1mm for high grade tumours (p<0.01) and 26.1mm if all malignant tumours were included as a single group (p<0.01). Using peritumoral oedema as a diagnostic test for tumour grade resulted in a specificity of 72%. The highest diagnostic ability was found when comparing benign to high grade tumours which yielded sensitivity of 59% and a positive likelihood ratio of 2.1. This data suggests a high false negative rate and that the test adds little to the diagnostic process. To our knowledge this is the first study which assesses the diagnostic accuracy of peritumoral oedema to predict the histological grade of soft tissue sarcomas. Our results show a statistically significant difference, in surrounding peritumoral oedema, exists when comparing benign to high grade sarcomas and to all malignant tumours. This relationship is not apparent for low grade tumours. As a diagnostic test, using only peritumoral oedema to predict histological grade is unreliable

Follow-up radiographs are usually used as the reference standard for the diagnosis of suspected scaphoid fractures. However, these are prone to errors in interpretation. We performed a meta-analysis of 30 clinical studies on the diagnosis of suspected scaphoid fractures, in which agreement data between any of follow-up radiographs, bone scintigraphy, magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, or CT could be obtained, and combined this with latent class analysis to infer the accuracy of these tests on the diagnosis of suspected scaphoid fractures in the absence of an established standard. The estimated sensitivity and specificity were respectively 91.1% and 99.8% for follow-up radiographs, 97.8% and 93.5% for bone scintigraphy, 97.7% and 99.8% for MRI, and 85.2% and 99.5% for CT. The results were generally robust in multiple sensitivity analyses. There was large between-study heterogeneity for the sensitivity of follow-up radiographs and CT, and imprecision about their sensitivity estimates.

If we acknowledge the lack of a reference standard for diagnosing suspected scaphoid fractures, MRI is the most accurate test; follow-up radiographs and CT may be less sensitive, and bone scintigraphy less specific.