Elective surgery elicits a systemic immune response and may result in immunosuppression in certain patients. It is currently unknown whether patients are at an increased risk for viral infection and associated illness in the immediate postoperative period following total joint arthroplasty. This question has become more important given the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We analyzed 3 large administrative datasets (Medicare 5% and 100% standard analytic files, Humana claims database) to identify patients who underwent total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) from 2005 to 2013. The influenza vaccination status of each patient was defined using the presence or absence of a code for vaccination. The incidence of a flu diagnosis was recorded in both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients at 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months following the date of surgery and was compared to a cohort of vaccinated patients who did not undergo surgery.Introduction
Methods
Meaningful clinical improvement as demonstrated through patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are increasingly used to evaluate success of total hip arthroplasty (THA) procedures. This patient perspective can provide a full picture when used with clinical data to best evaluate surgical outcomes. All primary THA procedures reported to the American Joint Replacement Registry from 2012–2018 with linked pre-operative and 1-year post-operative functional or anatomical PROMs were included. The achievement of minimal clinically-important difference (MCID) was calculated using the distribution method. Logistic regression models with covariate adjustment for patient demographics, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, and body mass index (BMI) were constructed to identify associations with PROMs. Results were analyzed based on hospital size (small, medium and large) and teaching type (non-teaching, minor and major) based on the American Hospital Association Survey (2015).Introduction
Methods
