Periprosthetic Joint Infection: Understanding the Epidemiology, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis and Treatment Options

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382). This special issue belongs to the section "Antibiotic Therapy in Infectious Diseases".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 839

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mayo Clinic Orthopaedics, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Interests: periprosthetic joint infection

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mayo Clinic Orthopaedics, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Interests: postoperative pain management; periprosthetic joint infection

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Mayo Clinic Orthopaedics, Scottsdale, AZ, USA
Interests: hip preservation surgery; primary and revision hip and knee arthroplasty

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

As you are all aware, periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating complication and one of the leading causes of implant failure following primary and revision total-joint arthroplasty (TJA). Concurrently, the economic burden of this disease process exceeds $2 billion per annum in the United States alone. Notwithstanding this, our understanding of PJI epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment options remains limited.

We are excited to be collaborating with Antibiotics to bring you this Special Issue on PJI. All articles related to the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of PJI will be considered for publication, including clinical research, fundamental scientific research, and systematic reviews. In order to be considered for publication in this Special Issue, all articles must be submitted by the deadline date of 31 May 2025.

We look forward to working with you.

Dr. Saad Tarabichi
Dr. Mark J. Spangehl
Dr. Joshua S. Bingham
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • periprosthetic joint infection
  • diagnosis
  • epidemiology
  • pathogenesis
  • treatment

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

8 pages, 213 KiB  
Article
Periprosthetic Joint Infection in Unicompartmental vs. Total Knee Arthroplasty: Microbiological Spectrum and Management Outcomes
by Ali Said Nazlıgül, Şahan Güven, Yasin Erdoğan, Ahmet Fırat, Metin Doğan and Mustafa Akkaya
Antibiotics 2025, 14(6), 585; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14060585 - 6 Jun 2025
Viewed by 497
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a severe complication following both total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). While the microbiological profile of TKA PJI has been well characterized, limited data exist regarding UKA PJIs. This study aimed to compare [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a severe complication following both total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). While the microbiological profile of TKA PJI has been well characterized, limited data exist regarding UKA PJIs. This study aimed to compare the causative microorganisms and surgical treatment outcomes in PJI cases following UKA and TKA. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 82 patients (71 TKA and 11 UKA) who underwent surgical treatment for PJI between January 2017 and May 2024. PJI was diagnosed based on the Musculoskeletal Infection Society (MSIS) criteria. Treatment strategies included debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention (DAIR) or two-stage revision arthroplasty. Microbiological data were extracted from intraoperative cultures. Fisher’s exact test and the Mann–Whitney U test were used for statistical comparisons. Results: Gram-positive organisms, primarily Staphylococcus aureus and coagulase-negative staphylococci, were isolated in all UKA PJIs. In contrast, the TKA group demonstrated greater microbial diversity, including Gram-negative bacilli, polymicrobial infections, and a higher rate of culture-negative cases (33.8% vs. 18.2%). DAIR was performed more frequently in UKA cases (72.7% vs. 28.2%, p = 0.002). Recurrence rates following DAIR were similar in both groups (12.5% in UKA, 20.0% in TKA, p = 1.000). Two-stage revision resulted in no recurrence in UKA and a 9.8% recurrence rate in TKA patients. Conclusions: UKA PJIs appear to be microbiologically less complex than TKA PJI cases, with Gram-positive organisms predominating. Despite these differences, the outcomes of surgical treatment—both DAIR and two-stage revision—were comparable between groups. Standard PJI treatment principles may be applicable to both arthroplasty types; however, larger prospective studies are needed to confirm these findings. Full article
Back to TopTop