Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2017

Comments

This article has been peer reviewed. It is the author’s final published version in Arthroplasty Today, Volume 3, Issue 1, March 2017, Pages 57-60.

The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artd.2016.03.005. Copyright © Manrique et al.

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Underweight (UW) patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty have exhibited higher complication rates, including infection and transfusion. No study to our knowledge has evaluated UW total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients. We, therefore, conducted a study to investigate if these patients are at increased risk for complications, including infection and transfusion.

METHODS: A case-control study was conducted using a prospectively collected institutional database. Twenty-seven TKA patients were identified as UW (body mass index [BMI] < 18.5 kg/m

RESULTS: The average BMI was 17.1 kg/m

CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that UW TKA patients have a higher likelihood of developing SSI and requiring blood transfusions. The specific reasons are unclear, but we conjecture that it may be related to decreased wound healing capabilities and low preoperative hemoglobin. Investigation of local tissue coverage and hematologic status may be beneficial in this patient population to prevent SSI. Based on the results of this study, a prospective evaluation of these factors should be undertaken.

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Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Language

English

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