Abstract
Introduction
Reported data on impact of obesity on outcome of total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is mixed. The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the impact of obesity on surgical procedure and postoperative outcomes after total hip and knee arthroplasty.
Methods
Pubmed and Scopus databases were searched from 2000 to 2013 for English-language studies that compared the outcomes of total hip or knee arthroplasty between different body mass index (BMI) groups. Data from these studies were pooled and analyzed.
Results
Twenty-six studies for each type of procedure fulfilled the criteria. Lower BMI was associated with lower risk of superficial (OR=2.16, P<0.001) and deep infections (OR=3.65, P<0.001), hip dislocation (OR=1.56, P<0.001), hip revision (OR=1.21, P=0.02), blood transfusion (OR=0.47, P<0.05), operative time (P<0.01), and short form physical score (P<0.001) in hip arthroplasty. In knee arthroplasty, lower BMI was also associated with lower risk of superficial (OR=1.44, P<0.001) and deep infections (OR=3.81, P<0.001), as well as better short form mental score (P<0.001), Knee Society score (P<0.001) and Knee Society function scores (P<0.001). Other outcome measures were not significantly different between obese and non-obese groups.
Conclusion
Obesity is associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications and worse clinical and functional outcomes following TJA.
