Plasma viscosity and C-reactive protein after total hip and knee arthroplasty

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Choudhry-R-R. Rice-R-P. Triffitt-P-D. Harper-W-M. Gregg-P-J. Glenfield General Hospital, Leicester, England. J-Bone-Joint-Surg-[Br]. 1992 Jul. 74(4). P 523-4. We studied the changes h~ plasma viscosity and C-reactive protein to establish normal values after total hip or knee arthroplasty. Viscosity decreased from 1.68 (+/- 0.017) to 1.57 (+/- 0.014) on the first postoperative day and thereafter rose to 1.60 (+/- 0.019), 1.75 (+/- 0.015), and 1.74 (+/- 0.011) on the third, seventh and fourteenth days respectively. Six to eight weeks after operation it had returned to pre-operative levels. A viscosity above the upper limit of the laboratory range, obtained more than two months after operation, may be considered as abnormal. The C-reactive protein level increased significantly on the first postoperative day and then decreased from a peak on the second day, attaining nearly normal levels at six to eight weeks after operation. It may be a more sensitive indicator of deep postoperative infection than plasma viscosity. Author-abstract.