Introduction: Intraoperatively obtained peri-implant tissue cultures remain the standard for diagnosis of fracture-related infection (FRI), although culture-negative cases may complicate treatment decisions. This paper reviews the evidence on sonication fluid and tissue sampling for the diagnosis of FRI. Methods: A comprehensive search in Pubmed, Embase and Web-of-Science was carried out on April 5, 2018, to identify diagnostic validation studies regarding sonication fluid and tissue sampling for FRI. Results: Out of 2624 studies, nine fulfilled the predefined inclusion criteria. Five studies focused on sonication fluid culture, two on PCR and two on histopathology. One additional histopathology study was found after screening of reference lists. There is limited evidence that sonication fluid culture may be a useful adjunct to conventional tissue culture, but no strong evidence that it is superior or can replace tissue culture. Regarding molecular techniques and histopathology the evidence is even less clear. Overall, studies had variable 'gold standard' criteria for comparison and poorly reported culture methods. Conclusions: Scientific evidence on sonication fluid and tissue sampling, including culture, molecular techniques and histopathology for the diagnosis of FRI is scarce. It is imperative that laboratory protocols become standardized and uniform diagnostic criteria, as recently published in a consensus definition, be implemented.
Keywords: Fracture-related infection; diagnosis; histopathology; sonication; systematic review; tissue sampling.