Objective

Study 90-day cardiac and thromboembolic complications and all-cause mortality following total hip or knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA).

Method

In a population-based cohort of all Olmsted County residents who underwent a THA or TKA between 1994 and 2008, we assessed 90-day occurrence and predictors of cardiac complications (myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmia or congestive heart failure), thromboembolic complications (deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE)) and mortality.

Results

Among the Olmsted County THA and TKA cohorts, 90-day complication rates were as follows: cardiac, 15.8% and 6.9%; thromboembolic, 4.9% and 4.0%; and mortality, 0.7% and 0.4%, respectively. Unadjusted frequency of cardiac/thromboembolic events differed by history of prior respective event. In multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analyses, ASA class III–IV (OR, 6.1, 95% CI:1.6, 22.8) and higher Deyo-Charlson comorbidity score (OR, 1.2, 95% CI:1.0,1.4) were significantly associated with odds of 90-day cardiac event post-THA in patients with no known prior cardiac event. In those with known prior cardiac disease, ASA class III–IV (OR, 4.4, 95% CI:2.0, 9.9), male gender (OR, 0.5, 95% CI:0.3,0.9) and history of thromboembolic disease (OR, 3.2; 95% CI:1.4,7.0) were significantly associated with odds of cardiac complication 90-day post-THA. No significant predictors of thromboembolism were found in THA patients.

In TKA patients with no prior cardiac history, age >65 years (OR, 4.1, 95% CI:1.2, 14.0), and ASA class III–IV (OR, 2.8, 95% CI:1.1,6.8) and in TKA patients with known cardiac disease, ASA class III–IV (OR, 3.2, 95% CI:1.8,5.7) was significantly associated with odds of 90-day cardiac event. In TKA patients with no prior thromboembolic disease, male gender (OR, 0.5, 95% CI:0.2,0.9) and higher Charlson index (OR, 1.2, 95% CI:1.1,1.3) and in patients with known thromboembolic disease, higher Charlson index score (OR, 1.1, 95% CI:1.1,1.4) was associated with odds of 90-day thromboembolic event.

Conclusion

Older age, higher comorbidity, higher ASA class and prior history of cardiac/thromboembolic disease was associated with an increased risk of 90-day cardiac and thromboembolic complications.

Objective

To assess the association of specific comorbidities with periprosthetic fractures after primary total knee replacement (TKA)

Methods

We used the prospectively collected data in the Mayo Clinic Total Joint Registry from 1989-2008 on all patients who had undergone primary TKA. The outcome of interest was postoperative periprosthetic fractures during the follow-up. Main predictors of interest were comorbidities grouped from the validated Deyo-Charlson index. Multivariable-adjusted Cox regression analyses adjusted for gender, age, body mass index (BMI), American Society of Anesthesiology (ASA) class, operative diagnosis and implant fixation. Hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated.

Results

We included 17,633 primary TKAs with a mean follow-up of 6.3 years. The mean age was 68 years, 55% were women and mean BMI was 31. There were 188 postoperative periprosthetic fractures on postoperative day one or later; 162 fractures (86%) occurred postoperative day 90 day or later. In multivariable analyses that simultaneously adjusted for all comorbidities and other variables (age, gender, BMI, ASA, operative diagnosis, cement status), two conditions were significantly associated with increased hazard of postoperative periprosthetic fractures: peptic ulcer disease, hazard ratio of 1.87 (95% confidence interval:1.28, 2.75; p=0.0014); and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) hazard ratio of 1.62 (95% confidence interval:1.10, 2.40; p=0.02).

Conclusions

Peptic ulcer disease and COPD are associated with higher risk of periprosthetic fractures after primary TKA. This may be related to the disease or their treatments, which needs further study. Identification of specific risk factor may allow for implementation of intervention strategies to reduce this risk.

We assessed whether higher Body Mass Index (BMI) is associated with higher risk of moderate-severe knee pain 2- and 5-years after primary or revision Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA). We adjusted for gender, age, comorbidity, operative diagnosis and implant fixation in multivariable logistic regression. BMI (reference, <25 kg/m2) was not associated with moderate-severe knee pain at 2-years post-primary TKA (odds ratio (95% confidence interval): 25-29.9, 1.02 (0.75,1.39), p=0.90; 30-34.9, 0.93 (0.65,1.34), p=0.71; 35-39.9, 1.16 (0.77,1.74), p=0.47; ≥40, 1.09 (0.69,1.73), (all p-values ≥0.47). Similarly, BMI was not associated with moderate-severe pain at 5-year primary TKA and at 2- and 5-yr revision TKA follow-up. Lack of association of higher BMI with poor pain outcomes post-TKA implies that TKA should not be denied to obese patients for fear of suboptimal outcomes.