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. 1992 Mar;74(2):265-9.
doi: 10.1302/0301-620X.74B2.1544966.

Diagnosing infection in hip replacements. The use of fine-needle aspiration and radiometric culture

P Roberts  1 , A J Walters, D J McMinn
Affiliations

Diagnosing infection in hip replacements. The use of fine-needle aspiration and radiometric culture

P Roberts et al. J Bone Joint Surg Br. 1992 Mar.

Abstract

In 78 consecutive patients, we performed fine-needle aspiration of the hip before revision surgery. At the revision operation biopsies were taken from the capsule and joint tissues. The aspirate and the homogenised soft-tissue specimens were cultured using a radiometric technique. Fifteen hips proved to be infected and 63 sterile on culture of the tissues taken during revision surgery; 94% of the aspiration results were correct. The sensitivity of the technique was 87% and the specificity 95%. Fine-needle aspiration combined with a radiometric culture technique is a simple and reliable method of diagnosing infection of hip prostheses.

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