, according to the findings of a large cohort study.
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In absolute terms, these rates were 15.6% after revision total knee replacement and 8.6% after revision total hip replacement, vs. 2.1% and 2.1% after the respective primary surgeries, wrote Charles E. Edmiston Jr., PhD, and associates. “This result is consistent with results from several other studies that have reported an increased risk after revision procedures,” they added. Such information is essential for developing care bundles based on presenting risk factors, they wrote in a report published in the American Journal of Infection Control.
Population aging and comorbidities are fueling the need for primary and revision joint replacement surgery. “Such trends highlight the need for solutions to cost-effectively prevent and treat surgical site infections, one of the common complications after total joint replacement procedures,” the researchers wrote. Using IBM MarketScan and Medicare data, they studied 335,134 total knee replacements and 163,547 total hip replacements performed in the United States between 2009 and 2015.
After adjustment for potential confounders, the comorbidities that were most strongly linked to surgical site infections during the 90 days after primary or revision joint replacement were AIDS, paralysis, coagulopathy, metastatic cancer, heart failure, alcohol use disorder, obesity, fluid electrolyte disorders, and chronic pulmonary disorders. The estimated odds ratios for these correlates ranged from 1.33 to 1.58, and all confidence intervals reached statistical significance.
In general, these findings reflect those of smaller studies, the researchers noted. “The challenge for the future will be the development of evidence-based surgical care bundles that focus on the peri-, intra-, and postoperative components of orthopedic patient care, especially in patients undergoing periprosthetic revision.”
Johnson & Johnson Medical Device Companies provided funding. Three coinvestigators reported employment and stockholder ties to the company. In addition, Dr. Edmiston and one coinvestigator reported speaker fees for Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson company.
SOURCE: Edmiston CE et al. Am J Infect Control. 2019 May 6. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2019.03.030.