A meta-analysis published on September 7, 2026, reports that a history of arthroscopic surgery significantly increases the risk of infection following knee, hip, and shoulder arthroplasty.^[1] The study, titled "Joint-Specific Effects of Previous Arthroscopic Surgery on the Risk of Infection Following Knee, Hip, and Shoulder Arthroplasty," was published in the Journal of Investigative Surgery.^[1] The analysis synthesized pooled incidence rates from a sample of 31 observational studies.^[1] Results indicate that prior arthroscopic surgery increased the odds of overall postoperative infection by a factor of 1.33, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.14 to 1.56.^[1] The risk for deep infection was also elevated, with an odds ratio of 1.38 (95%CI: 1.17-1.63).^[1] The authors noted obvious heterogeneity among different joints when stratifying the subgroup analyses.^[1] The New studies instrument recorded these findings via PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov.^[1] The read here is that the specific impact of prior surgery varies by joint type, though the aggregate data confirms a statistically significant increase in infection risk across the board.^[1] The study does not specify the exact nature of the prior arthroscopic procedures or the time interval between them and the arthroplasty.