Description

The knowledge in the field of bone and joint infections is steadily increasing. Looking at PubMed® shows that the number of publications in the field of septic arthritis, peripros- thetic joint infection, and osteomyelitis has been strongly rising for 8–15 years. Thus, it seems natural that a new edition of this textbook dealing with bone and joint infections would facilitate the daily clinical decisions of specialized and non‐specialized physicians. Due to an unstoppable specialization of infectious diseases, a textbook with information weighted by dedicated specialists in the field is still useful, despite the unlimited availabil- ity of information in the internet. The main drawback of unfiltered publications in medi- cal databases is the necessity of the appropriate selection by the clinician. For this purpose, specialized clinical experience is needed. Therefore, a textbook written by recog- nized experts in their field allows to make the correct clinical decisions. In the 2nd edition, all chapters have been updated to the current scientific knowledge. In addition, four new chapters have been added. Since the correct diagnosis is the base of the rational treatment, a chapter with diagnostic algorithms for the most important topics in the field of bone and joint infections is added. Implants increase the susceptibility to infec- tion by compromising the local host defense. Therefore, literally every microorganism may cause periprosthetic joint infection. A new chapter presents clinical information about such rare infections caused by unusual bacteria. In routine diagnostic labs, many microbi- ologists may lack specialized knowledge in the field of non‐culture techniques. Therefore, a new chapter presents these methods for the application in patients with bone and joint infection. The correct use of these methods is discussed. This allows the rational use of non‐culture techniques without wasting laboratory capacity and money. Finally, the fourth new chapter is dedicated to bacteriophages, which have been recently used in the treatment of different chronic infections also in western countries. This therapeutic tech- nique is of increasing interest, due to the rising problem of multiresistant bacteria. Up to now, controlled clinical trials have been missing. The presentation of the current knowl- edge may motivate clinicians to plan such studies in patients with biofilm infections. I hope that the new edition, written by a dedicated multidisciplinary team of specialists, is a useful guide to the rational management of patients with bone and joint infections.