Nowadays periprosthetic joint infections are among the major problems that continue to frustrate the orthopaedic surgeons, as it was in the past. Although the demand for total joint arthroplasty is increasing, the burden of joint infection occurring in the setting of arthroplasty is also increasing steeply. The difficulties in timely and accurate diagnosis of this infectious disease often lead the problem to an inextricable situation.

Some initiatives were taken with the aim of standardizing the definitions, preventive parameters, diagnostic methods and treatment protocols that have been used up to now and making the algorithms common practice in the orthopaedic society. The knowledge that was gathered superposingly up to now was reviewed at the International Consensus Meeting on Periprosthetic Joint Infections which is the latest of these attempts.

In this paper we aimed to bring in a general and up-to-date perspective on this disease by summarizing the current epidemiologic data, the burden it imposes on the national economy and the patient, the current definition of the disease and the classifications that have been used till nowadays.