Detection of Staph Colonization in Pre-op Arthroplasty Patients

The presence of Staph in/on a patient who will undergo total joint replacement is a risk in
that the patient could go on to develop infection at the surgery site after surgery. The
purpose of this study is to evaluate if it is beneficial to to administer a questionnaire
and obtain cultures from various body sites from patients prior to surgery and also to
determine which body site(s) provide the best source of possible staph presence. If the pre
operative cultures indicate staph is present, an Infectious Disease specialist will be
consulted for standard of medical care consultation and treatment management. All patients
scheduled to have total joint arthroplasty are eligible to participate. The research team
will follow the study patients for 2 years after they undergo prosthetic joint implantation
to monitor for development of prosthetic joint infection.