Is there a significant seasonality in the occurrence of osteoarticular infections?

Abstract

Clinical experience suggests fluctuation in the occurrence of osteoarticular infections. We performed a single-centre study during 2004-2012, dividing each year into the four seasons according to the Gregorian calendar. A total of 455 episodes of osteoarticular infections were retrieved. There were 91 prosthetic joint infections (45 of haematogenous origin) and 159 cases of septic arthritis. The median period between early symptoms and diagnosis of infection was 27 days. The overall number of infections per season, cumulated over the 8-year study period, was 119 in spring, 129 in summer, 95 in fall, and 112 in winter, which did not reflect any significant seasonal fluctuation. None of the different subgroups of infections, namely arthroplasties (p for trend = 0.755), haematogenous arthroplasty infections (p = 0.493), gram-negative episodes or arthritis (p = 0.290), showed any season-related fluctuation. We conclude that osteoarticular infections, including haematogenous prosthetic joint infections, do not show any significant seasonality.

Association between higher ambient temperature and orthopaedic infection rates: a systematic review and meta‐analysis

“…Our search identified 2191 unique documents. Eighteen studies met all criteria and were included in this review . Figure represents the process of inclusion and exclusion.…”

Which Orthopaedic Patients Are Infected with Gram-negative Non-fermenting Rods?

“…The proportion of NFR among Gram-negative pathogens was 45% (258/568). We could not detect Gram-negative infection outbreaks throughout the entire study period 24. In multivariate analysis adjusting for case-mix, polymicrobial infections and prior antibiotic use were the only significant predictors (Table 4).…”

An investigation of infection rate and seasonal effect level in total joint replacement cases

“…It is reported in the literature that there is a significant difference in infection rates between primary and revision joint prosthesis for the favour of primary joint surgery [7,9]. Throughout our survey we came across only two studies with regards to the difference in prosthetic infection and its relation to seasonal changes [10,11]. Our study concentrates on infection rates after total joint replacement in our clinic and their seasonal distribution.…”

“…To our knowledge, there are only 2 studies related to this subject [10,11]. The first of these was conducted by Kate et al, who investigate 17 infected cases among 750 total knee replacement patients.…”

“…The other, carried by Uçkay et al, reports that there is no statistically significant difference between knee circumference infection and seasons. The latter of the studies, however, investigates not only joint prosthesis but also general situations [11].…”