Serum and Synovial Markers in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis and Periprosthetic Joint Infection

Current diagnostic standards for PJI rely on inflammatory markers that are typically elevated in autoimmune diseases, thus making the diagnosis of PJI in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and joint replacement particularly complicated. There is a paucity of data on differentiating PJI from rheumatoid arthritis in patients with previous arthroplasty. In this study, we retrospectively analyzed the cases of 17 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 121 patients without rheumatoid disease who underwent surgical intervention due to microbiology-positive PJI of the hip or knee joint. We assessed clinical patient characteristics, laboratory parameters, and prosthesis survival rates in patients with and without rheumatoid arthritis and acute or chronic PJI. ROC analysis was conducted for the analyzed parameters. In patients with chronic PJI, peripheral blood CRP (p = 0.05, AUC = 0.71), synovial WBC count (p = 0.02, AUC = 0.78), synovial monocyte cell count (p = 0.04, AUC = 0.75), and synovial PMN cell count (p = 0.02, AUC = 0.80) were significantly elevated in patients with rheumatoid arthritis showing acceptable to excellent discrimination. All analyzed parameters showed no significant differences and poor discrimination for patients with acute PJI. Median prosthesis survival time was significantly shorter in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (p = 0.05). In conclusion, routinely used laboratory markers have limited utility in distinguishing acute PJI in rheumatoid patients. In cases with suspected chronic PJI but low levels of serum CRP and synovial cell markers, physicians should consider the possibility of activated autoimmune arthritis.

Automated summary

Current diagnostic standards for periprosthetic joint infection in rheumatoid arthritis patients are challenging due to overlaps with autoimmune markers. Routine laboratory markers have limited utility in distinguishing between chronic PJI and rheumatoid arthritis, emphasizing the importance of further research in this area.