Sensitivity and specificity of new serum blood parameters like Procalcitonin, Interleukin-6, Fibrinogen and Interferon-alpha in the field of orthopaedic surgery

Abstract

Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is still a severe problem after total hip and knee arthorplasty. One of the most important steps in the diagnostic process of detecting PJI remains the analysis of laboratory infection parameters. The aim of this study was to investigate the sensitivity and specificity of the serum parameters procalcitonin (PCT), interleukin-6 (IL-6), fibrinogen (FBG) and interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) in comparison to conventional parameters (leukocyte count),C-reactive protein(CRP)) in the field of orthopaedic surgery. Methods: Eighty-four patients (124 operations) were prospectively included. The blood parameters of interest were PCT, IL-6, FGB, IFN-alpha, leukocyte count and CRP. Samples were taken preoperatively and the first, the third and the seventh postoperative days. Samples of FBG were taken only preoperatively. The sensitivity and specificity of these parameters were calculated. Results: Considering all 124 operations, PCT (p=0.038), IL-6 (P=0.012), FBG (p

Date of Award	2012
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Medical University Graz
Supervisor	Mathias Glehr (Supervisor) & Andreas Leithner (Co-supervisor)