{
  "abstract": "Background/Objectives: The postoperative course of the serum markers that surgeons follow after open irrigation and debridement (I&D) for native knee septic arthritis is poorly defined. We described recovery trajectories of C-reactive protein (CRP), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), and CRP-to-albumin ratio (CAR). Methods: We retrospectively studied 98 adults treated by open I&D at one center between January 2018 and April 2026. Mixed-effects models with natural splines gave population-average geometric-mean curves for postoperative days 0–42. An exploratory group-by-time interaction compared repeat I&D patients after censoring at the first repeat operation. Results: Median age was 77.5 years; median synovial white-cell count was 54,691 cells/µL and median neutrophil percentage 93%; and cultures were positive in 39.8% of patients. Twelve patients (12.2%) underwent repeat I&D, eight during the index admission and four after readmission, and three (3.1%) underwent salvage surgery (minimum estimates). Fitted CRP fell below 5 mg/dL by day 8 and 3 mg/dL by day 13, and CAR fell below 1.0 by day 12; fitted NLR reached 3 by day 22, but its confidence band did not exclude non-attainment within 42 days. Milestones were 1 to 13 days later in culture-confirmed subgroups. In exploratory, underpowered analyses censored at reoperation, neither preoperative levels nor decline slopes clearly distinguished repeat I&D patients (CRP interaction p = 0.78); an uncensored model’s nominal CRP association largely disappeared. Conclusions: CRP, NLR, and CAR showed distinct population-average postoperative trajectories after open I&D. These descriptive curves may assist expectation-setting and study design but should not be used as stand-alone indicators of infection control or joint outcome. Multicenter prospective studies with standardized sampling and functional endpoints are needed.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Wonju Severance Christian Hospital, Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine, 20 Ilsan-ro, Wonju 26426, Republic of Korea",
    "Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Republic of Korea",
    "Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, 53 Jinhwangdo-ro 61-gil, Gangdong-gu, Seoul 05368, Republic of Korea"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 5,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Jaemin Lee",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4307-3798"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "YoungHwan Jang",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-5545-6078"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Philsun Park",
      "orcid": "0009-0000-5012-275X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Jaehyuk Lee"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Doo Sup Kim",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-9025-085X"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/50pz5haqekb61.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.3390/jcm15218311",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "50pz5haqekb61",
  "issns": [
    "2077-0383"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8311",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2746|Orthopedic Infections and Treatments"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7223915687",
  "pdf_url": null,
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-25",
  "publisher": "MDPI AG",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/50pz5haqekb61.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:20:01Z",
      "native_id": "10.3390/jcm15218311",
      "source": "crossref",
      "url": "https://www.mdpi.com/2077-0383/15/21/8311"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "medicine",
      "origin": "openalex:2746|Orthopedic Infections and Treatments",
      "subfield": "surgery"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Postoperative Recovery Trajectories of C-Reactive Protein, Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio, and CRP-to-Albumin Ratio After Open Irrigation and Debridement for Native Knee Septic Arthritis: A Descriptive Single-Center Cohort Study",
  "title_text": "Postoperative Recovery Trajectories of C-Reactive Protein, Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte Ratio, and CRP-to-Albumin Ratio After Open Irrigation and Debridement for Native Knee Septic Arthritis: A Descriptive Single-Center Cohort Study",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:20:01Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/50pz5haqekb61",
  "venue": "Journal of Clinical Medicine",
  "versions": []
}