Higher reliability of triple-phase bone scintigraphy in cementless total hip arthroplasty compared to cementless bipolar hemiarthroplasty

• Triple-phase bone scintigraphy is effective in ruling out infection with its higher sensitivity.
• Triple-phase bone scintigraphy has relatively low specificity compared to its high sensitivity.

PurposePeriprosthetic infection is one of the main reasons for revision surgery after hip arthroplasty. The purpose of the present study is to compare the reliability of triple-phase bone scintigraphy (TPBS) in the diagnosis of periprosthetic infection between cementless total hip arthroplasty (THA) and bipolar hemiarthroplasty (BHA).MethodsIn this retrospective study, 52 patients were analyzed; 33 of them were performed with THA and 19 of them were performed with BHA. The exclusion criteria were cementation in previous surgery, romatological joint disorders, periprosthetic fracture and malignancy history. C reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation (ESR) rate results were recorded preoperatively. Tissue samples from the different areas periprosthetic tissue were obtained for histopathological examination and sample tissue culture.ResultsIn the present study, the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were 90.9%, 77.3% and 81.8%, respectively, for THA and 77.8%, 60.0% and 68.4%, respectively, for BHA. Positive predictive values for THA and BHA were 66.7% and 63.6%, and negative predictive values were 94.4% and 75.0%, respectively.ConclusionsDue to the higher sensitivity, specificity and accuracy, TPBS has a more reliable diagnostic value for cementless THA in the diagnosis of periprosthetic infection compared to cementless BHA.