BESS PJI Guidelines - 3

EDITORIAL

Introduction to the BESS/BOA
PJI guidelines

Shoulder & Elbow
2018, Vol. 10(1S) S3
! The Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/1758573218772986
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Prof Amar Rangan

This Journal Supplement presents evidence and consensus based clinical guidelines for the investigation and
management of Periprosthetic Joint Infection (PJI) in
shoulder and elbow arthroplasty. These guidelines are
the result of a concerted eﬀort by many members of the
British Elbow and Shoulder Society (BESS), who put in
considerable time, eﬀort and background work leading
to the ﬁnal development of these guidelines.
Following the proposal to develop shoulder and
elbow PJI guidelines at the 'Optimising Outcomes'
meeting in October 2016 at York, literature searches
on the topic were commissioned by BESS and conducted by the Centre for Reviews and Dissemination
at the University of York. Scoping reviews of published
literature on shoulder and elbow PJI were conducted
and the ﬁndings summarised for consideration by the
BESS PJI working group. At the working group meeting on 24 March 2017, the template for the guidelines
and the process for developing consensus were agreed.
A further meeting took place in June 2017 and then the

ﬁnal key items that needed further discussion were presented to the PJI consensus group at the 'Optimising
Outcomes' meeting in October 2017 at York. The writing group then drafted the guidelines, which then
underwent a 28 day consultation period by BESS members in the members area of the BESS website.
Feedback from BESS surgeons and BOA reviewers further informed some changes to the draft resulting in the
ﬁnal guidelines published in this supplement.
While some centres may have established alternative
approaches with demonstrable good outcomes, in the
absence of universal consensus, we recommend the use
of this document to others to help guide clinical practice, service structure and best patient care. Whilst the
guideline has been developed to guide UK clinical practice, several aspects may be transferable to other health
systems.
Finally, on behalf of the BESS PJI working group,
I thank BESS Council for its support and all members
of BESS who have contributed to the guideline.

On behalf of the BESS PJI Working Group
Corresponding author:
Prof Amar Rangan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland.
Email: amar.rangan@york.ac.uk

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