Early Postoperative Mortality Following Joint Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review
Jasvinder A Singh, MBBS, MPH,1,2,3,4 Joseph Kundukulam, BS,2 Daniel L. Riddle, PT, PhD,5 Vibeke Strand, MD,6 and Peter Tugwell, MD7Hip Knee
Objective
To perform a systematic review of 30- and 90-day mortality rates in patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasties.
Methods
Five databases were searched for English-language studies of mortality in hip or knee arthroplasties and the following data were extracted: patient characteristics (age, gender, ethnicity), arthroplasty characteristics (unilateral vs bilateral, hip vs knee), system factors (hospital volume and surgeon volume), year of study, etc… Mortality rates were compared across variable categories; proportions were compared using relative risk ratios and 95% confidence intervals.
Results
Out of 650 titles and abstracts, 80 studies qualified for data inclusion. 35%, 34% and 31% studies provided 30-, 90- and >90-day mortality rates. Overall 30-day mortality rates published across all types of arthroplasties were 0.3%, 90-day: 0.7%. For those reports with specific rates, 30-day mortality was significantly higher in men than women (1.8% vs 0.4%; relative risk (RR): 3.93, 95% confidence interval (CI), 3.30–4.68) and bilateral vs unilateral procedures (0.5% vs 0.3%; RR, 1.6, 95% CI:1.49–1.72), but no differences were noted by the underlying diagnosis of osteoarthritis vs rheumatoid arthritis (0.4% vs 0.3%; RR 0.77, 95% CI:0.48–1.24). 90-day mortality showed non-significant trends favoring women, osteoarthritis as the underlying diagnosis, and unilateral procedures.
Conclusions
Several demographic and surgical factors were associated with higher 30-day mortality rates following knee and hip arthroplasties. More studies are needed to examine the effect of body mass index, comorbidities, and other modifiable factors, in order to identify interventions designed to lower mortality rates following arthroplasty procedures.
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