Bacterial DNA screening to characterize surgical site infection risk in orthopaedic patients.

PURPOSE: To provide an initial characterization of relevant bacterial DNA profiles for patients undergoing closed-fracture fixation or total joint arthroplasties. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Swabs were collected and analyzed using Polymerase Chain Reaction from adult patients undergoing closed-fracture fixation or total shoulder, knee, or hip arthroplasties. RESULTS: Bacterial DNA profiles varied across the different orthopaedic patient populations, and produced uncharacteristic profile shifts with direct relevance to each clinical infection. CONCLUSION: Findings provide a foundational dataset regarding bacterial colonization of relevant anatomic sites that can act as sources of surgical site infections for patients.