RESEARCH ARTICLE
Biomarkers in Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review
Marty T Mertens 1, Jasvinder A Singh*, 1, 2, 3, 4
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2011Volume: 5
First Page: 92
Last Page: 105
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-5-92
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001105010092
Article History:
Received Date: 9/10/2009Revision Received Date: 4/4/2010
Acceptance Date: 7/7/2010
Electronic publication date: 16/3/2011
Collection year: 2011

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
We performed a systematic review of all MEDLINE-published studies of biomarkers in arthroplasty. Thirty studies met the inclusion criteria; majority evaluated biomarkers for osteolysis, aseptic prosthetic loosening, and prosthetic infections. Four studies reported an elevated Cross-linked N-telopeptides of type I collagen (urine or serum) in patients with osteolysis or aseptic prosthetic loosening when compared to appropriate controls. Two or more studies each found elevated C-reactive protein, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and interleukin-6 in patients with infected prosthetic joints compared to controls. Most other biomarkers were either examined by single studies or had inconsistent or insignificant associations with outcomes. We conclude that the majority of the biomarkers currently lack the evidence to be considered as biomarkers for arthroplasty outcomes. Further studies are needed.