Seasonal Influence on Postoperative Complications after Total Knee Arthroplasty

• Published in: Knee Surgery and Related Research, 30(1) 2018, 30(1), , pp.42-49
• Main Authors: Malik, Azeem Tariq, Azmat, Shahid Khan, Ali, Arif, Mufarrih, Syed Hamza, Noordin, Shahryar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Original; 정형외과학
• ISSN: 2234-0726; 1225-1623; 2234-2451
• DOI: 10.5792/ksrr.17.052

This study is aimed at investigating whether inpatient complications and surgical site infections (SSIs) occurred more commonly in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) during the summer season. A total of 725 patients who underwent unilateral or bilateral TKA were included in this study. A total of 241 patients (33.2%) underwent TKA between May and August. Our outcomes of interest were the incidence of postoperative complications and length of stay. May-August surgeries were associated with a higher risk of postoperative inpatient complications (p=0.003). May-August surgeries (odds ratio [OR], 2.13; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.18 to 3.85), postoperative transfusion (OR, 2.46; 95% CI, 1.43 to 4.26), postoperative special care unit stay (OR, 4.68; 95% CI, 1.99 to 11.0) and chronic kidney disease (OR, 3.27; 95% CI, 1.15 to 9.28) were associated with a higher odds of developing inpatient complications. No association was present between summer surgeries and SSIs (p=0.486). The results of this study show that overall complication rates following TKA exhibit a seasonal trend, with a peak during the summer months. These results may have some implication in clinical practice and stricter approaches to hospital guidelines during the summer months.