Biosensors for detection and monitoring of joint infections

The aim of this review is to assess the use of biosensors in the diagnosis and monitoring of joint infection (JI). JI is worldwide considered a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Due to the progressive ageing of the global population, the request for joint replacement increases, with a significant rise in the risk of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). Nowadays, the diagnosis of JI is based on clinical and radiological findings. Nuclear imaging studies are an option but are not cost-effective. Serum inflammatory markers and the analysis of the aspirated synovial fluid are required to confirm the diagnosis. However, a quick and accurate diagnosis of JI may remain elusive as no rapid and highly accurate diagnostic method was validated. A comprehensive search on Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAH, CENTRAL, Google Scholar, and Web of Science was conducted from the inception to June 2021. The PRISMA guidelines were used to improve the reporting of the review. The MINORS was used for quality assessment. From a total of 155 studies identified, only four articles were eligible for this study. The main advantages of biosensors reported were accuracy and capability to detect bacteria also in negative culture cases. Otherwise, due to the few studies and the low level of evidence of the papers included, it was impossible to find significant results. Therefore, further high-quality studies are required.