Abstract
Between 1971 and 1986, 253 arthroplasties were performed in 218 patients at the Medical College of Oita. All of them received bacteriologic analysis of the synovial tissue in operation.
Four patients were found to have staphylococcus epidermidis. The diagnosis of infection can be much more difficult to make in the patient with a chronic low-grade infection due to staphylococcus epidermidis. A culture of tissue removed at the time of surgery is the most reliable technique for diagnosis of it.
