Peritoneal Dialysis Does Not Carry the Same Risk as Hemodialysis in Patients Undergoing Hip or Knee Arthroplasty

Background: Dialysis has been associated with increased complication rates following total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The current literature on this issue is limited and does not distinguish between hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. The purpose of this study was to determine (1) the differences in the infection and other complication rates after THA or TKA between patients on peritoneal dialysis and those on hemodialysis and (2) the differences in complication rates after THA or TKA between patients on peritoneal dialysis and matched controls without dialysis dependence.

Methods: Patients who had undergone primary THA or TKA from 2005 to 2014 were identified in the 100% Medicare files; 531 patients who underwent TKA and 572 patients who underwent THA were on peritoneal dialysis. These patients were matched 1:1 to patients on hemodialysis and 1:3 with patients who were not receiving either form of dialysis. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to examine several adverse events, including the prevalence of infection at 1 year and hospital readmission at 30 days.

Results: The infection rates at 1 year after THA were significantly lower in the peritoneal dialysis group than in the hemodialysis group: 1.57% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.7% to 3.0%) and 4.20% (95% CI = 2.7% to 6.2%), respectively, with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.30 (95% CI = 0.12 to 0.71). This was also the case for the infection rates 1 year after TKA (3.39% [95% CI = 2.0% to 5.3%] and 6.03% [95% CI = 4.2% to 8.4%], respectively; OR = 0.67 [95% CI = 0.49 to 0.93]). Peritoneal dialysis appears to result in a similar infection rate when compared with matched controls. The rates of other assessed complications, such as hospital readmission, emergency room visits, and mortality, were very similar between the peritoneal dialysis and hemodialysis groups but were often significantly higher than the rates in non-dialysis-dependent controls.

Conclusions: The increased risk of complications in dialysis-dependent patients following THA or TKA depends on the mode of the dialysis. Whereas patients on hemodialysis have a significantly higher risk of infection, patients on peritoneal dialysis do not appear to have this same risk when compared with non-dialysis-dependent patients. These results suggest that the mode of dialysis should be considered when assessing the risk associated with THA or TKA.

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.