Minority Race and Ethnicity is Associated With Higher Complication Rates After Revision Surgery for Failed Total Hip and Knee Joint Arthroplasty

Racial and ethnic disparities in access to hip and knee total joint arthroplasty (TJA) and postoperative outcomes have wide-reaching implications for patients and the health care system. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of ethnicity on clinical outcomes and complications following revision hip and knee TJA.

A single-institution, retrospective analysis of a consecutive series of 4424 revision hip and knee TJA patients was evaluated. Student’s t-test and chi-squared analysis were used to identify significant differences in patient demographics and clinical outcomes between Caucasians and various ethnic minorities, including African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians.

When compared with white patients, African American patients demonstrated a significantly higher BMI (P = .04), ASA score (P = .04), length of hospital stay (P = .06), and postoperative infection rates (P = .04). Hispanics demonstrated a significantly higher BMI (P = .04), when compared with white patients, alongside a significantly higher risk for postoperative infection (P < .01). African American demonstrated a significantly higher ASA score (P = .02; P = .03), when compared with Hispanics and Asians, alongside a significantly increased length of stay (P = .01) and higher risk for postoperative infection (P = .02).

The study findings demonstrate an underutilization of revision TJA by ethnic minority groups, suggesting that disparities in access to orthopedic surgery increase from primary to revision surgery despite higher failure rates of minority ethnic groups reported after primary TJA surgery. In addition, inferior postoperative outcomes were associated with African Americans and Hispanics, when compared to white patients, with African Americans demonstrating the highest risk of postoperative complications.