The effect of body mass index on the risk of post-operative complications during the 6 months following total hip replacement or total knee replacement surgery

Summary: Objective: To assess the effect of obesity on 6-month post-operative complications following total knee (TKR) or hip (THR) replacement.Design: Data for patients undergoing first THR or TKR between 1995 and 2011 was taken from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Logistic regression was used to assess whether body mass index (BMI) was associated with 6-month post-operative complications [deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism (DVT/PE), myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, respiratory infection, anaemia, wound infection, urinary tract infection or death] after controlling for the effects of age, gender, smoking, drinking, socio-economic status (SES), co-morbidities and medications.Results: 31,817 THR patients and 32,485 TKR patients were identified for inclusion. Increasing BMI was associated with a significantly higher risk of wound infections, from 1.6% to 3.5% in THR patients (adjusted P 
Source: Osteoarthritis and Cartilage - Category: Rheumatology Authors: Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research