The researchers found bacterial DNA could be detected in circulating blood and sequenced, according to a July 26 news release. Standard blood tests take at least three to five days and can fail to identify infectious pathogens in 15 to 20 percent of cases.
Fifty-three adults with hip or knee periprosthetic joint infections had blood drawn before surgical treatment for the study. Microbial cell-free DNA from plasma was sequenced and aligned to a genome database.
The study concluded: “Microbial cfDNA from pathogens causing local periprosthetic joint infections can be detected in peripheral blood. These circulating biomarkers can be sequenced from noninvasive venipuncture, providing a novel source for joint pathogen identification. Further development as an adjunct to tissue cultures holds promise to increase the number of cases with accurate pathogen identification and improve time-to-speciation. This test may also offer a novel method to monitor infection clearance during the treatment period.”
The study’s findings were published in the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
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