The Joint EBJIS-MSIS 2026 Conference

Background

· Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) substantially affects patients’ mobility, pain, and quality of life (QoL) (1)

· Objective: Assessing long-term QoL following successful PJI treatment

· Explore differences by infected joint and treatment strategy.

Methods

· Systematic review and meta-analysis of 28 studies

· Evaluation of study reliability (MINORS & ROBINS-I)

· QoL trajectories and differences by joint location and treatment strategy were assessed using random-effects models

Results

· QoL improved significantly from ≥12 months, with gains persisting beyond 24 months (Fig. 1)

· Physical QoL remained significantly below population norms (2), whereas mental health did not

· No significant differences in QoL were observed by infected joint or treatment strategy

· Very high heterogeneity (I² > 95%) suggests that patient- and study-level factors outweigh treatment-specific effects.

Conclusion

· Findings should be interpreted cautiously

· Prospective, properly matched and blinded studies measuring QoL are needed

References

• Walter N, Mohokum M, Loew T, Rupp M, Alt V. Healing beyond the joint: Addressing mental health in periprosthetic joint infection in a prospective longitudinal study. J Psychosom Res. Februar 2024;177:111559.

• Maglinte GA, Hays RD, Kaplan RM. US general population norms for telephone administration of the SF-36v2. J Clin Epidemiol. Mai 2012;65(5):497–502.

The Joint EBJIS-MSIS 2026 Conference

Long-term Quality-of-Life following Periprosthetic Joint Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

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