Human plasma modifications induced by total joint replacement: analysis by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy

To better understand the events occurring after major surgery, we examined the plasma content of 40 patients undergoing elective total joint replacement. For this study, we used Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, a nondestructive and sensitive technique, to analyse changes in the vibrational spectra of plasma samples. Important metabolic changes were observed. Both lipid and protein levels were globally decreased one day after surgery as compared with preoperative levels. In contrast, triglyceride, glycerol, saccharide and amino acid contents were largely increased one day after surgery. Moreover, we detected a specific 1180–945 cm−1 spectral window, which allows good separation of patient sera before surgery from patient sera one day after surgery. One week after surgery, the biochemical changes were not entirely reversed. Thus, FT-IR spectroscopy appears to be a rapid useful tool to investigate the metabolic alterations induced by surgery and the recovery period, and to correlate them with biochemical and physiological data.