The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical relevance of an isolated positive sonication fluid culture (SFC) in patients who underwent revision surgery of a prosthetic joint. We hypothesized that cases with a positive SFC have a higher rate of infection and prosthesis failure during follow-up compared to controls with a negative SFC. This retrospective multicentre observational study was performed within the European Study Group of Implant-Associated Infections (ESGIAI). All patients who underwent revision surgery of a prosthetic joint between 2013 and 2019 and had a minimum follow-up of 1 year were included. Patients with positive tissue cultures or synovial fluid cultures were excluded from the study.Aim
Method
