Active clinical trials for "Arthritis, Infectious"

One of the major causes of prosthetic joint failure is infection. Recently, coagulase-negative Staphylococci (CoNS) have been identified as emergent, nosocomial pathogens involved in subclinical prosthetic joint infections (PJIs). The diagnosis of PJIs mediated by CoNS is complex and demanding due to the absence of clear clinical signs derived from the host immune system response. In this scenario, the key to successful surgical treatment is the capability to differentiate between aseptic implant loosening and septic failure. Hence, the central hypothesis of this study is that proteomic analysis of the secretome of CoNS clinical isolates associated with the characterization of patient synovial fluids will reveal a panel of putative biomarkers tightly linked to PJIs. The confirmation of the presence of bacterial PJI biomarkers in synovial fluids of infected patients will pave the way for the development of a new reliable test capable of aiding in the diagnosis of subclinical PJIs.

Diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) remains a major clinical challenge. The diagnosis of PJI is based on a composition of clinical judgment, serologic test from peripheral blood, synovial fluid cytology and biomarkers, radiography, microbiology, histopathologic evaluation of periprosthetic tissue, and intraoperative findings. The importance of PJI diagnosis give the subsequent treatment options, like the removal of prosthesis, debridement and prosthesis retention and the time of reimplantation. Currently, The Second International Consensus Meeting (ICM) has announced its criteria for the diagnosis of PJI. The preoperative diagnosis includes serologic tests (C-reactive protein, D-dimer, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate) and synovial fluid biomarkers (white blood cell and differential, leukocyte esterase and ⍺-defensin). The intraoperative diagnosis includes a single positive culture, positive histology, and positive intraoperative purulence. However, some of the markers used in the 2018 ICM criteria, such as ⍺-defensin, leukocyte esterase, and synovial fluid C-reactive protein, are not available in every hospital and cannot be immediately available to clinicians in decision making. The microfluidic technologies have made a notable impact on the evolution of diagnostic tools by providing a rapid and cost-effective platform for the application of immunoassay techniques. The microfluidic system integrates the complex processing steps of the laboratory protocols into a single chip through logical integration and optimization of processes. Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and National Tsing Hua University have conducted preliminary research to confirm the feasibility of their microfluidic systems. Therefore, the project will develop a "microfluidic biomarker detection chip" to detect the concentrations three important biomarkers for PJI, including ⍺-defensin, leukocyte esterase and C-reactive protein in synovial fluids. This will be a three-year project. In the 1st year, 50 patients who will be scheduled to undergo unilateral revision total joint arthroplasty (RTJA) will be collected with the synovial fluid and tested on a laboratory platform. In the 2nd year, based on laboratory results, 50 patients undergoing RTJAs will be recruited to develop a microfluidic chip system, and their on-chip performance will be fine-tuned and optimized. In the 3rd year, 50 patients undergoing RTJA will be collected, and the verification of the microfluidic system will be realized. This system will be validated in PJIs cohorts in the first stage of debridement and implant removal, in the interim period, and the second stage of reimplantation. It is expected that biomarker detection chip will improve medical distress and bring important information to clinical decision-making.

Making the diagnosis underlying a painful, swollen joint currently involves aspiration followed by numerous microbiological and biochemical laboratory tests. This can be costly, time consuming and in the case of an acutely swollen joint, lead to a lengthy inpatient admission. There is an unmet need to provide a quick, easy, reliable dipstick like test to analyse joint fluid in the community, clinic, or emergency department setting. The investigators aim to use well established metabonomic techniques to: Analyse fluid from patients with swollen joints Identify potential biomarkers of inflammatory, infective and osteoarthritic causes of joint swelling Correlate this with lubrication and wear properties of the fluid The long term goal is to develop time saving, cost effective, non-invasive diagnostic tests to improve management of a swollen joint. The biomedical research centre at Imperial provides a unique and unparalleled clinical and scientific environment to conduct this research. The Imperial College division of Computational and Systems Medicine has an international reputation in metabonomics and this, together with the high volume of patients with swollen joints treated at Imperial National Health Service Trust (c1000/yr) ensures that the study can take place in an environment conductive to success.

The alternatives to the combination of Fluoroquinolone and Rifampicin in prosthetic joint infections (PJI) caused by staphylococcus are currently unclear. Clindamycin is prescribed as dual therapy in this indication, and provides many advantages. We conducted a multicenter retrospective observational study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Clindamycin in prosthetic joint infections due to staphylococcus between January 2013 and December 2019.

Lactate levels are rapidly available and may potentially aid in diagnosing septic arthritis in a native joint. This study will determine the utility of synovial lactate in discriminating septic from aseptic arthritis.

This is a prospective multicenter study. All patients presenting for revision hip or knee arthroplasty for all indications under the respective surgeon's care may be eligible. Per standard of care preoperatively, all patients must have blood drawn for erythrocyte sedimentation rate(ESR), C-reactive protein(CRP) and D-dimer. Aspiration of the joint in question may be performed at the discretion of the treating surgeon and results documented. Intraoperative samples will also be collected and sent for NGS analysis

The two-stage protocol is gold standard in terms of infection control treating prosthetic joint infections of total hip and total knee arthroplasty. The antibiotic pause for diagnostic reasons before reconstruction (stage two) is discussed concerning persistence of infection and development of resistant bacterial strains. Serological markers and synovial analysis are common use to exclude persistence of infection. The investigators therefore asked 1) is the serological testing of c-reactive protein and leukocytes a valuable tool to predict a persistence of infection and 2) what is the role of synovial aspiration of PMMA Spacers on hip and knee joints.

The purpose of this study is to analyze pre- and intra-operative joint aspirates of native joints and joints with suspicion of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) of the hip, knee and shoulder acquired in clinical routine. Joint aspirates are then analyzed with new diagnostic methods (microcalorimetry, PCR, alpha-defensin, etc.). Diagnostic speed and accuracy of these methods is compared to standard diagnostic methods in clinical routine, such as blood cultures of joint aspirates, cell count/differential, intra-operative tissue culture and histology and sonication.

Septic arthritis of the native hip poses significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenges as it is considered an orthopedic emergency requiring urgent surgery. Inadequate or delayed treatment is disastrous, resulting in irreversible destruction of the joint. Initial treatment usually comprises of arthroscopic or open debridement. According to literature 25-38% of first debridement fail, requiring a second or third intervention or even a staged procedure with femoral head resection and a temporary antibiotic-loaded cement spacer. Understanding who will succeed and who will fail after a single surgical debridement of a septic hip joint could improve shared decision-making and could help decide which patient would benefit from resection arthroplasty straight away. In order to gain more insight in clinical factors associated with failure of a single surgical debridement in septic arthritis of the native hip, a retrospective cohort study will be conducted. There are no detailed guidelines for the treatment of septic arthritis of the native hip. Therefore, treatment today is similar to treatment 10 years ago (i.e. the treating surgeon does what he thinks is best for the patient). This lack of a structured approach is the reason for this retrospective study and we aim to come up with principles to guide treatment of future patients.