Microbial Sequencing and Biomarker Concordance for Joint Infection Diagnosis, 2020-2022

2,011 synovial fluid specimens from 2020 to 2022 were analyzed to evaluate microbial next-generation sequencing (NGS) against the ICM 2018 minor criteria for periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). The dataset, authored by Craig D. Tipton and shared under CC-BY-4.0, reports diagnostic performance metrics including sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy. It compares NGS results with synovial biomarker levels like C-reactive protein, white blood cell count, and polymorphonuclear leukocyte percentage.

Use Cases

• Validate diagnostic models for periprosthetic joint infection based on microbial sequencing concordance with established criteria.
• Compare the specificity of next-generation sequencing to synovial C-reactive protein levels for infection detection.
• Investigate associations between uncommon microbial species and infection in cases missed by conventional culture.
• Analyze the relationship between elevated synovial biomarkers and positive NGS results in ICM-negative samples.

Strengths

• Includes 2,011 specimens, providing a substantial sample size for analysis.
• Reports specific performance metrics with confidence intervals (e.g., 76.4% sensitivity, 92.3% specificity).
• Covers a defined three-year time period from 2020 to 2022.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The dataset is small (25.7 KB), indicating limited scope or summary-level data.

Provenance

Source

Synovial fluid specimens submitted to MicroGenDX from outpatient surgical clinics.

Collection Method

Retrospective analysis of matched synovial biomarker and targeted microbial next-generation sequencing data.

Time Range

2020-2022

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-11 05:25:48; freshness should be verified.