Who Should Manage Periprosthetic Joint Infection? The Case for a Multidisciplinary Approach

Abstract

Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) following total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is a complex disease state that is quite devastating to those affected. Improvement in diagnostic testing modalities and therapeutic techniques have led to significant advances in treatment for patients, but there is still a considerable gap in treatment success across providers and institutions. Where and who should be treating cases of PJI remains a debated topic. Many experts have proposed a new treatment model not dissimilar to that with which has been used to treat other complex disease states such as cancer for decades, and there is now a growing body of evidence to support such a strategy is superior. In this article, we evaluate the current body of literature on the topic and offer recommendations for the ideal treatment model for PJI: the multidisciplinary approach.

Keywords

• periprosthetic joint infection
• total joint arthroplasty
• multidisciplinary approach to treatment