Synovial fluid pH is as specific as synovial leukocyte count but less sensitive for the diagnosis of chronic prosthetic joint infection.

"Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participateAll patients’ written consent was obtained. The trial was registered in the German clinical trials registry (Registration number: DRKS00021038). Approval by the local ethics committee was obtained as well prior to conducting the study (Ethikkommission der Ärztekammer Westfalen Lippe und der Westfälischen Wilhelms Universität Münster, ref. no. 2019-666-f-S, approval granted 26.02.2020). The study was designed and conducted following the Equator Network statement. Consent for publicationConsent for publication was not deemed necessary as the manuscript does not contain individual data. Competing interestsThe authors declare that they have no competing interests. Competing interests The authors declare that they have no competing interests."

"Funding Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL. The authors would like to thank and acknowledge the Open Access Funds of the Westphalian Wilhelms University Münster who paid the publication fee."

"Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register (Registration number: DRKS00021038)."