Fluorescent-conjugated antibodies as rapid ex vivo markers for bacterial presence on orthopedic surgical explants and synovium: A pilot study.

Surgical infection is one of the most pressing problems in the field of orthopedic surgery; however, current detection methods are plagued by high costs and long wait times. This study seeks to demonstrate the ability of a novel assay using fluorescently conjugated antibodies and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) to accurately detect bacterial presence on orthopedic surgical explants, tissue, and synovial fluid in 30 min. Explanted hardware, tissue, and synovial fluid samples suspected to be infected were collected from human subjects with institutional review board consent.

Commonly Encountered Skin Biome-Derived Pathogens after Orthopedic Surgery.

Normal skin microbiota influence susceptibility to surgical infections. The distribution of skin bacteria differs by anatomic site, and given the right conditions, almost any of these bacteria can become an opportunistic pathogen. This paper provides a thorough review of the most commonly encountered bacteria in various regions of the body and their isolation from operative incisions at those locations.