Alpha-Defensin and Synovial Proteins to Improve Detection of Pediatric Septic Arthritis

Septic Arthritis Clinical Trial

Official title:

Alpha-Defensin and Synovial Proteins to Improve Detection of Pediatric Septic Arthritis

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT03704766
• Other study ID #: 2015-947
• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: June 28, 2016
• Est. completion date: May 2025

Study information

• Verified date: June 2024
• Source: Hospital for Special Surgery, New York
• Contact: Grace Wang, BA
• Phone: 212-774-2121
• Email: wangg[@]hss.edu
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Differentiating between septic arthritis and other causes of joint inflammation in pediatric patients is challenging and of the utmost importance because septic arthritis requires surgical debridement as part of the treatment regimen. The current gold standard to diagnose septic arthritis in children is a positive synovial fluid culture; however, joint cultures may take several days to return. If a bacterial infection is present, it requires immediate surgical intervention in order to prevent lasting articular cartilage damage. Frequently surgeons must decide whether to surgically debride a joint before culture results are available. There is no single lab test or clinical feature that reliably indicates bacterial infection over other causes of joint inflammation. The alpha-defensin assay has shown high sensitivity and specificity for joint infection in other studies.The purpose of this study is to determine the sensitivity and specificity of several synovial biomarkers for diagnosing pediatric septic arthritis.

Description:

The purpose of this study is to determine if alpha-defensin and other proteins present in joint fluid may be able to rapidly diagnose bacterial joint infections. Patients with suspected joint infection typically undergo joint aspiration so that tests can be performed to help diagnose joint infection, including gram stain, cell count, and culture. Patients under 18 years old that are undergoing sampling of their joint fluid due to suspicion of infection or inflammation will be enrolled in this multi-center trial. Joint fluid will also be sampled from normative controls made up of patients who are undergoing an unrelated procedure without inflammation or infection. Joint fluid from patients with suspected inflammation/infection and from normative controls will be analysed for presence of alpha-defensin, leukocyte esterase, neutrophil elastase, synovial C-reactive protein, and synovial lactate. The alpha-defensin assay has shown high sensitivity and specificity for joint infection in other studies. Additionally a Staphylococcus spp antigen panel, Candida spp antigen panel, Enterococcus faecalis assay, BACTAlert culture, cell count plus differential, gram stain, and aerobic, anaerobic, and fungal cultures will be done using synovial fluid. A synovial fluid PCR for Kingella kingae will be performed if the patient is under eight years of age. Blood tests will include cell count and differential, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, and D-dimer, as well as relevant inflammatory or rheumatologic marker tests. Results from these tests will be compared to joint fluid culture which the gold standard for diagnosing bacterial infection. The study includes 1 visit per patient, the standard of care visit in which the patient would be undergoing joint aspiration or arthroscopy. Once data has been collected, the sensitivity and specificity will be determined for these experimental tests both individually and in combination.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 442
• Est. completion date: May 2025
• Est. primary completion date: May 2025
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: N/A to 17 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria- Septic Cases and Inflamed, Non-Septic Comparators:

• Synovial fluid is obtained to assess for infection or inflammatory/rheumatologic disease (all medium and large joints will be included: hip, knee, ankle, shoulder, subtalar, elbow, and wrist joints)

• Patients with recent antibiotic exposure are eligible to participate but will be analyzed separately

Inclusion Criteria- Normative Controls:

• Patients undergoing a procedure unrelated to infection (the procedure may be arthroscopy, or an open or percutaneous bony or soft tissue procedure)

Exclusion Criteria- All Participants:

• Family declines to participate/consent

• Patients with a major joint trauma (such as a documented ligament tear or fracture) within the past 8 weeks are not eligible to have that joint aspirated, but could have another joint aspirated

Exclusion Criteria- Normative Controls:

• A history of recent infection (within the past 3 months)

• Received antibiotics in the past 7 days

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Arthritis
• Arthritis, Infectious
• Communicable Diseases
• Infection of Hip Joint (Disorder)
• Infection of Shoulder Joint
• Infections
• Joint Infection
• Septic Arthritis

Intervention

Diagnostic Test:
• Synovial Alpha-defensin assay
One of the synovial fluid (joint fluid) tests that will be performed by the outside lab, CD Diagnostics.
• Synovial Neutrophil elastase assay
One of the synovial fluid (joint fluid) tests that will be performed by the outside lab, CD Diagnostics.
• Synovial lactate assay
Synovial Fluid (joint fluid) will be sent out to CD Diagnostics for this test.
• Synovial C-reactive Protein (CRP)
One of the synovial fluid (joint fluid) tests that will be performed by the outside lab, CD Diagnostics.
• Synovial Staphylococcus spp antigen panel
One of the synovial fluid (joint fluid) tests that will be performed by the outside lab, CD Diagnostics.
• Synovial Candida spp antigen panel
One of the synovial fluid (joint fluid) tests that will be performed by the outside lab, CD Diagnostics.
• Synovial Enterococcus faecalis assay
One of the synovial fluid (joint fluid) tests that will be performed by the outside lab, CD Diagnostics.
• Synovial bacterial culture by BacT/Alert
The synovial fluid (joint fluid) sent to CD Diagnostics for testing will also be cultured to see if any organisms grow.
• Synovial Cell count + differential (CBC)
One of the synovial fluid (joint fluid) tests that will be performed by the outside lab, CD Diagnostics.
• Synovial Gram Stain
This will be performed by CD Diagnostics if any organisms are present in the synovial fluid.
• Synovial Leukocyte Esterase Test Strips
These test strips will be tested at the hospital where the patient is being seen, a few drops of synovial fluid will be used on the strip.
• Synovial PCR for Kingella kingae
In participants < 8 years old, a sample of synovial fluid will be tested for Kingella kingae using PCR.
• Serum Cell count + differential (CBC)
A blood test performed at the hospital.
• Serum erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
A blood test performed at the hospital.
• Serum C-reactive Protein (CRP)
A blood test performed at the hospital.
• Serum D-dimer
A blood test performed at the hospital.
• Serum Procalcitonin
A blood test performed at the hospital.
• Blood Cultures
Blood will be cultured at the hospital to see if any organisms grow.
• Optional blood testing per standard of care (ASO, anti-strep, ANA, anti-DS-DNA, HLA-B27, RF, Lyme and other inflammatory/ rheumatologic markers )
In patients with suspected inflammation/infection, there are other blood tests which may be standard of care and used for diagnosis.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Children's Healthcare of Atlanta	Atlanta	Georgia
United States	Campbell Clinic	Collierville	Tennessee
United States	Hospital for Special Surgery	New York	New York

Sponsors (5)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Hospital for Special Surgery, New York	Campbell Clinic, CD Diagnostics, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

References & Publications (18)

Bingham J, Clarke H, Spangehl M, Schwartz A, Beauchamp C, Goldberg B. The alpha defensin-1 biomarker assay can be used to evaluate the potentially infected total joint arthroplasty. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2014 Dec;472(12):4006-9. doi: 10.1007/s11999-014-3900-7. Epub 2014 Sep 26. — View Citation

Brook I, Reza MJ, Bricknell KS, Bluestone R, Finegold SM. Synovial fluid lactic acid. A diagnostic aid in septic arthritis. Arthritis Rheum. 1978 Sep-Oct;21(7):774-9. doi: 10.1002/art.1780210706. — View Citation

Carpenter CR, Schuur JD, Everett WW, Pines JM. Evidence-based diagnostics: adult septic arthritis. Acad Emerg Med. 2011 Aug;18(8):781-96. doi: 10.1111/j.1553-2712.2011.01121.x. Erratum In: Acad Emerg Med. 2011 Sep;18(9):1011. — View Citation

Colvin OC, Kransdorf MJ, Roberts CC, Chivers FS, Lorans R, Beauchamp CP, Schwartz AJ. Leukocyte esterase analysis in the diagnosis of joint infection: can we make a diagnosis using a simple urine dipstick? Skeletal Radiol. 2015 May;44(5):673-7. doi: 10.1007/s00256-015-2097-5. Epub 2015 Jan 29. — View Citation

Cunningham G, Seghrouchni K, Ruffieux E, Vaudaux P, Gayet-Ageron A, Cherkaoui A, Godinho E, Lew D, Hoffmeyer P, Uckay I. Gram and acridine orange staining for diagnosis of septic arthritis in different patient populations. Int Orthop. 2014 Jun;38(6):1283-90. doi: 10.1007/s00264-014-2284-3. Epub 2014 Feb 5. — View Citation

Deirmengian C, Kardos K, Kilmartin P, Cameron A, Schiller K, Parvizi J. Combined measurement of synovial fluid alpha-Defensin and C-reactive protein levels: highly accurate for diagnosing periprosthetic joint infection. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2014 Sep 3;96(17):1439-45. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.M.01316. — View Citation

Deirmengian C, Kardos K, Kilmartin P, Gulati S, Citrano P, Booth RE Jr. The Alpha-defensin Test for Periprosthetic Joint Infection Responds to a Wide Spectrum of Organisms. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2015 Jul;473(7):2229-35. doi: 10.1007/s11999-015-4152-x. — View Citation

Frangiamore SJ, Saleh A, Grosso MJ, Kovac MF, Higuera CA, Iannotti JP, Ricchetti ET. alpha-Defensin as a predictor of periprosthetic shoulder infection. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2015 Jul;24(7):1021-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jse.2014.12.021. Epub 2015 Feb 8. — View Citation

Gafur OA, Copley LA, Hollmig ST, Browne RH, Thornton LA, Crawford SE. The impact of the current epidemiology of pediatric musculoskeletal infection on evaluation and treatment guidelines. J Pediatr Orthop. 2008 Oct-Nov;28(7):777-85. doi: 10.1097/BPO.0b013e318186eb4b. — View Citation

Ganz T, Selsted ME, Szklarek D, Harwig SS, Daher K, Bainton DF, Lehrer RI. Defensins. Natural peptide antibiotics of human neutrophils. J Clin Invest. 1985 Oct;76(4):1427-35. doi: 10.1172/JCI112120. — View Citation

Hatakeyama Y, Miura H, Sato A, Onodera Y, Sato N, Shimizu D, Kumazawa Y, Sanada H, Hirano H, Terada Y. Neutrophil elastase in amniotic fluid as a predictor of preterm birth after emergent cervical cerclage. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2016 Oct;95(10):1136-42. doi: 10.1111/aogs.12928. Epub 2016 Jun 17. — View Citation

Heyworth BE, Shore BJ, Donohue KS, Miller PE, Kocher MS, Glotzbecker MP. Management of pediatric patients with synovial fluid white blood-cell counts of 25,000 to 75,000 cells/mm(3) after aspiration of the hip. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2015 Mar 4;97(5):389-95. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.N.00443. — View Citation

Maharajan K, Patro DK, Menon J, Hariharan AP, Parija SC, Poduval M, Thimmaiah S. Serum Procalcitonin is a sensitive and specific marker in the diagnosis of septic arthritis and acute osteomyelitis. J Orthop Surg Res. 2013 Jul 4;8:19. doi: 10.1186/1749-799X-8-19. — View Citation

Nakamura A, Osonoi T, Terauchi Y. Relationship between urinary sodium excretion and pioglitazone-induced edema. J Diabetes Investig. 2010 Oct 19;1(5):208-11. doi: 10.1111/j.2040-1124.2010.00046.x. — View Citation

Potter BK. From Bench to Bedside: Alpha-defensing--The Biggest Thing in Joint Replacement Infections Since Prophylactic Antibiotics? Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2015 Oct;473(10):3105-7. doi: 10.1007/s11999-015-4297-7. Epub 2015 Apr 14. No abstract available. — View Citation

Riise OR, Kirkhus E, Handeland KS, Flato B, Reiseter T, Cvancarova M, Nakstad B, Wathne KO. Childhood osteomyelitis-incidence and differentiation from other acute onset musculoskeletal features in a population-based study. BMC Pediatr. 2008 Oct 20;8:45. doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-8-45. — View Citation

Wang C, Wang Q, Li R, Duan JY, Wang CB. Synovial Fluid C-reactive Protein as a Diagnostic Marker for Periprosthetic Joint Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Chin Med J (Engl). 2016 Aug 20;129(16):1987-93. doi: 10.4103/0366-6999.187857. — View Citation

Wyatt MC, Beswick AD, Kunutsor SK, Wilson MJ, Whitehouse MR, Blom AW. The Alpha-Defensin Immunoassay and Leukocyte Esterase Colorimetric Strip Test for the Diagnosis of Periprosthetic Infection: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2016 Jun 15;98(12):992-1000. doi: 10.2106/JBJS.15.01142. — View Citation

* Note: There are 18 references in all — Click here to view all references

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Sensitivity and specificity of experimental tests	Sensitivity and specificity have been selected as these are standard outcome tests when determining the utility of a diagnostic test.	Interim analysis at 2 years of study recruitment

External Links

•   Leukocyte esterase reagent strips for the rapid diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection