Risk factors for renal dysfunction after total hip joint replacement; a retrospective cohort study

Background and purpose of the study

Renal injury and dysfunction are serious complications after major surgery, which may lead to increased morbidity and mortality. The objective of our study was to identify the possible risk factors for renal dysfunction after total hip joint replacement surgery.

Methods

A retrospective study was conducted among 599 consecutive primary hip joint replacements performed between January 2011 and December 2013. According to the RIFLE criteria, increased postoperative serum creatinine was considered indicative of postoperative renal injury. The Welch two-sample test, chi-square test, and Fisher exact test were used for statistical analysis.

Results

Eighty-one patients (13.8 %) had significant moderate or severe postoperative renal dysfunction in which 10 patients (1.7 %) acquired severe and permanent renal impairment.

Conclusion

We identified advanced age, hypertension, general anesthesia, high ASA scores, low intra-operative systolic BP, and prophylactic dicloxacillin as significant risk factors. Low baseline systolic BP, low baseline diastolic blood pressure, and hip fracture diagnosis were independent risk factors for postoperative increase in serum creatinine. Smoking, diabetes mellitus, high BMI, gender, and duration of surgery were not identified as significant risk factors.