C-reactive protein/albumin and C-reactive protein/fibrinogen ratios for the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection in revision total joint arthroplasty

Aim: Testing for systemic inflammation markers is considered a simpler method for diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). Changes in the C-reactive protein/albumin ratio (CRP/Alb ratio) and C-reactive protein/ fibrinogen ratio (CRP/Fib ratio) are associated with PJI. This study aimed to evaluate the application of CRP/Alb and CRP/Fib ratios as novel inflammation-based markers for the diagnosis of PJI. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated 445 patients who underwent total hip and knee revision arthroplasties between January 2010 and February 2021. Of these, 129 patients were also independently evaluated for PJI with coagulation-related comorbidities. The patients were divided into two groups: the aseptic revision (268 patients) and PJI revision groups (187 patients). Subsequently, we evaluated the diagnostic value of the CRP/Alb and CRP/Fib ratios compared to other inflammation-based diagnoses using the area under the curve (AUC) values. Results: The AUC values of the CRP/Alb and CRP/Fib ratios were 0.880 and 0.872, respectively, suggesting similar diagnostic potentials for PJI. The CRP/Alb and CRP/Fib ratios were better than the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), Alb, and Fib, whose AUC values were 0.765, 0.352, and 0.730, respectively, for the diagnosis of PJI. The optimal cut-off for the CRP/Alb ratio was 0.13, with good sensitivity (85.0%) and specificity (78.4%). The optimal cut-off CRP/Fib ratio was 2.04, with good sensitivity (81.3%) and specificity (80.6%). Notably, the CRP/Alb and CRP/Fib ratios had the highest sensitivity, followed by four conventional inflammatory markers, namely, CRP, ESR, Alb, and Fib, which had sensitivities of 80.2%, 67.4%, 50.8%, and 54.0%, respectively. Similar findings were observed in patients with coagulation-related comorbidities. Conclusion: Both the CRP/Alb and CRP/Fib ratios were significantly higher in patients with PJI than in those with aseptic failure and showed better sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing PJI than classical inflammatory markers.

Automated summary

The study aimed to evaluate the application of CRP/Alb and CRP/Fib ratios as novel inflammation-based markers for diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). The results showed that both ratios had higher sensitivity and specificity for diagnosing PJI compared to classical inflammatory markers.