Periprosthetic joint infections (PJIs) and fracture-related infections (FRIs) are associated with a significant risk of adverse events. However, there is a paucity of data on cardiac complications following revision surgery for PJI and FRI and how they impact overall mortality. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the risk of perioperative myocardial injury (PMI) and mortality in this patient cohort. We prospectively included consecutive patients at high cardiovascular risk (defined as age ≥ 45 years with pre-existing coronary, peripheral, or cerebrovascular artery disease, or any patient aged ≥ 65 years, plus a postoperative hospital stay of > 24 hours) undergoing septic or aseptic major orthopaedic surgery between July 2014 and October 2016. All patients received a systematic screening to reliably detect PMI, using serial measurements of high-sensitivity cardiac troponin T. All-cause mortality was assessed at one year. Multivariable logistic regression models were applied to compare incidence of PMI and mortality between patients undergoing septic revision surgery for PJI or FRI, and patients receiving aseptic major bone and joint surgery.Aims
Methods
Older patients with multiple medical co-morbidities
are increasingly being offered and undergoing total joint arthroplasty
(TJA). These patients are more likely to require intensive care
support, following surgery. We prospectively evaluated the need
for intensive care admission and intervention in a consecutive series
of 738 patients undergoing elective hip and knee arthroplasty procedures.
The mean age was 60.6 years (18 to 91; 440 women, 298 men. Risk
factors, correlating with the need for critical care intervention,
according to published guidelines, were analysed to identify high-risk
patients who would benefit from post-operative critical care monitoring.
A total of 50 patients (6.7%) in our series required critical care
level interventions during their hospital stay. Six independent
multivariate clinical predictors were identified (p <
0.001)
including a history of congestive heart failure (odds ratio (OR)
24.26, 95% confidence interval (CI) 9.51 to 61.91), estimated blood
loss >
1000 mL (OR 17.36, 95% CI 5.36 to 56.19), chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease (13.90, 95% CI 4.78 to 40.36), intra-operative
use of vasopressors (OR 8.10, 95% CI 3.23 to 20.27), revision hip
arthroplasty (OR 2.71, 95% CI 1.04 to 7.04) and body mass index
>
35 kg/m2 (OR 2.70, 95% CI 123 to 5.94). The model was
then validated against an independent, previously published data
set of 1594 consecutive patients. The use of this risk stratification
model can be helpful in predicting which high-risk patients would
benefit from a higher level of monitoring and care after elective
TJA and aid hospitals in allocating precious critical care resources. Cite this article: