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Background: There has been recent increased focus on the importance of modifiable risk factors that can affect the risk of potentially avoidable complications such as prosthetic joint infection (PJI). We aimed to assess the relationship between adherence to a preoperative optimization protocol at our institution and its influence on the rate of PJI after primary and revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods: A single-institution, retrospective study was conducted on all elective primary and revision TKAs performed over a 2-year period. PJI was diagnosed using the 2011 Musculoskeletal Infection Society criteria. Surgical outcomes and PJI were assessed relative to adherence to preoperative optimization criteria. Compliance was set as a binary variable with any case that did not meet all criteria deemed noncompliant. Results: A total of 669 TKAs met inclusion criteria, including 510 primary and 159 revision TKAs. Overall compliance was 61.3%. There were 26 PJIs (3.9%) in total. The PJI rate was 1.2% (6) among primary and 14.4% (20) among revision TKAs. The rate of PJI among cases that met the preoperative optimization criteria was 2.4% (5), and the rate among cases that did not was 6.2% (21) (P < .05). Conclusions: Adherence to preoperative optimization criteria may decrease the incidence of PJI after primary and revision TKA, but further study is needed to confirm the findings of this study.

Background: Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating complication of total hip arthroplasty (THA). Patient optimization represents an important target for PJI prevention. Unfortunately, best practice screening guidelines are not consistently followed by all surgeons. Our study aimed to determine both the degree and the effect that compliance with our institutional preoperative surgical selection criteria had on PJI rates for patients undergoing elective primary THA. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted on 455 elective primary THA procedures performed at an academic tertiary care center over a 2-year period. Institutional preoperative surgical selection criteria included the following: body mass index ≤40 kg/m2, hemoglobin A1c ≤7.5%, hemoglobin ≥12 g/dL, albumin ≥3.5 g/dL, no smoking within 30 days prior to surgery, and completion of a decolonization protocol if a nasal polymerase chain reaction was positive for Staphylococcus aureus. PJI was assessed for a minimum 1-year follow-up using Musculoskeletal Infection Society criteria from 2011. Rates of compliance and PJI were compared using a chi-squared test. Results: Surgeon compliance with institutional preoperative selection criteria was 62.4% and ranged from 0.0% to 83.9%. Five of 455 patients developed a PJI. The total PJI rate was 1.1%. The compliant patient cohort had a PJI rate of 0.0%, while the noncompliant cohort had a PJI rate of 2.9% (P = .0038). Conclusions: This study identified a statistically significant decrease in PJI rates among patients who met all preoperative screening criteria. Keywords: Arthroplasty, Hip, Replacement, Infection, Patient selection