Role of inflammatory markers in the preoperative evaluation of patients undergoing salvage total hip arthroplasty.

Surgeons may use laboratory tests, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein (CRP), and white blood cell count, as well as joint aspirations to diagnose prosthetic joint infections. There is a paucity of literature correlating preoperative inflammatory markers with risk of infection in the setting of salvage total hip arthroplasty (THA). This retrospective case analysis included patients who underwent a THA salvage procedure a minimum of 3 months after a failed fixation of a proximal femur or acetabulum, with a goal of assessing the utility of inflammatory markers as a screening tool in preoperative evaluation of salvage THA. Eighty-five patients met inclusion criteria. Thirteen patients were diagnosed with an infection preoperatively or intraoperatively during salvage THA. An elevated preoperative CRP level was a significant marker for infection. A CRP of 7.1 produced 80% sensitivity, 88% specificity, and a receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.840. There was a high rate of perioperative complications (17.6%) in salvage THA regardless of the presence of infection. In conclusion, CRP levels are useful in the preoperative evaluation for periprosthetic joint infection before salvage THA.