TNF and infection: TNFα blockers are known to compromise local wound healing [39], so that an increased rate of polymicrobial infections could have been expected; however, the rate of polymicrobial infections (n = 2, 10%) was also consistent with data from the literature concerning TJA infections in patients having or not a rheumatic disorder (11 to 25%) [29,36,37], and in RA patients not exposed to TNFα blockers (15%) [38].