Aims. Despite declining frequency of blood transfusion and electrolyte supplementation following total joint arthroplasty, postoperative blood analyses are still routinely ordered for these patients. This study aimed to determine the rate of blood transfusion and electrolyte restoration in arthroplasty patients treated with a perioperative blood conservation protocol and to identify risk factors that would predict the need for transfusion and electrolyte supplementation. Patients and Methods. Patients undergoing primary total joint arthroplasty of the hip or knee between July 2016 and February 2017 at a single institution were included in the study. Standard preoperative and postoperative laboratory data were collected and reviewed retrospectively. A uniform blood conservation programme was implemented for all patients. Need for blood transfusion or potassium supplementation was determined through a coordinated decision by the care team. Rates of transfusion and supplementation were observed, and patient risk factors were noted. Results. The overall rate of blood transfusion was 1.06% in the study population of 1132 total joint arthroplasties performed in 1023 patients. Of the 12 patients requiring transfusion, 11 were female, ten occurred in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty, and all 12 patients had a preoperative haemoglobin level less than 130 g/l. Operative duration and surgical blood loss were significantly greater in those patients requiring blood transfusion. Nearly all patients requiring transfusion had a history of, or risk factors for, cardiovascular disease. Potassium supplementation was required in 15.5% of the study cohort; 72% of these patients receiving potassium presented with a potassium level less than 4 mmol/l during preoperative testing, while the remaining 28% had a past medical history of either significant anaemia, cardiopulmonary, cardiovascular, or renal diseases that had required substantial medical management. Conclusion. A consistent blood-conserving perioperative strategy effectively minimized need for blood transfusion in total joint arthroplasty patients below previously reported rates in the literature. We suggest that postoperative full blood counts and basic metabolic panels should not routinely be ordered in these patients unless their preoperative haemoglobin and potassium is below 130 g/dl or 4 mmol/l respectively, and they have medical comorbidities

Primary total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is an increasingly common and safe way of treating joint disease. Robust preoperative assessment improved intraoperative techniques and holistic rehabilitation contribute to an uneventful postoperative period. Despite there being evidence against the utility of postoperative blood tests, it is still often part of routine practice. We aim to evaluate the usefulness of these tests by investigating their incidence following TJA as well as identifying preoperative risk factors for abnormal blood test results postoperatively especially pertaining to anaemia and acute kidney injury (AKI). This is a retrospective cohort study of patients who had elective TJA between January and December 2019 at a tertiary centre. An independent student's t-test and Fisher's exact test was used to compare variables between the normal and abnormal postoperative results groups. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to identify risk factors for an abnormal blood test result. Analyses of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves and the area under the curve (AUC) were used to determine cut off values that could be suggestive of abnormal test results postoperatively. The study included 2721 patients with a mean age of 69 of which 46.6% were males. Abnormal postoperative bloods were identified in 444 (16.3%) patients. We identified age (≥65 years), female gender, ASA ≥ 3 as risk factors for developing abnormal postoperative blood tests. Preoperative haemoglobin (≤ 127 g/dL), haematocrit (≤ 0.395L/L) and potassium (≤ 3.7 mmol/L) were noted as cut-offs that could be predictive of postoperative anaemia or AKI respectively. The costs outweigh the benefits of ordering routine postoperative blood tests in TJA patients. Clinicians should risk stratify their patients and have a lower threshold for ordering blood tests in patients with one or more of the risk factors we have identified. These risk factors are age (≥65 years), females, ASA ≥ 3, preoperative haemoglobin (≤ 127 g/L), haematocrit (≤ 0.395L/L), and potassium (≤ 3.7 mmol/L)

Aims

Tranexamic acid (TXA) has been shown to significantly reduce transfusion rates in primary total hip arthroplasties (THAs), but high-quality evidence is limited in the revision setting. The purpose of the current study was to compare the rate of blood transfusions and symptomatic venous thromboembolic events (VTEs) in a large cohort of revision THAs treated with or without intravenous (IV) TXA.

We examined patient and surgical factors associated with deep surgical site infection (SSI) following total hip replacement (THR) in a large integrated healthcare system. A retrospective review of a cohort of primary THRs performed between 2001 and 2009 was conducted. Patient characteristics, surgical details, surgeon and hospital volumes, and SSIs were identified using the Kaiser Permanente Total Joint Replacement Registry (TJRR). Proportional-hazard regression models were used to assess risk factors for SSI. The study cohort consisted of 30 491 THRs, of which 17 474 (57%) were performed on women. The mean age of the patients in the whole series was 65.5 years (13 to 97; sd 11.8) and the mean body mass index was 29.3 kg/m² (15 to 67; sd 5.9). The incidence of SSI was 0.51% (155 of 30 491). Patient factors associated with SSI included female gender, obesity, and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score ≥ 3. Age, diagnosis, diabetes and race were not associated with SSI. The only surgical factor associated with SSI was a bilateral procedure. Surgeon and hospital volumes, use of antibiotic-laden cement, fixation method, laminar flow, body exhaust suits, surgical approach and fellowship training were not associated with risk of SSI.

A comprehensive infection surveillance system, combined with a TJRR, identified patient and surgical factors associated with SSI. Obesity and chronic medical conditions should be addressed prior to THR. The finding of increased SSI risk with bilateral THR requires further investigation.