Subclinical infection as possibile cause of pain after THR

The residual pain after a total hip replacement (THR) is a relatively common complication which could represent a big concern for orthopedic surgeon. The possible cause of pain are various, but the most common are represented by aspic loosening and periprosthetic late infection. in some cases there is no clinical evidence of infection so that is often difficult to recognize, especially in the so called "low grade infection" where there are no systemic signs or clare symptoms of septic complication. Our investigations articulated in standardized protocol have allowed the identification of low-grade infection as a cause of pain after a THR that clinically appeared unrelated to infection.