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Primary TKA linked to increased mortality rates at 30, 90 days postsurgery

Parry MC. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 2011;93:948-953. doi:10.2106/JBJS.J.00425

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Primary total knee arthroplasty was associated with increased mortality rates 30 and 90 days after the procedure, according to researchers in the United Kingdom.

For this study, Michael C. Parry, BSc(Hons), MBChB, MRCS, and colleagues at Southmead Hospital, Bristol, United Kingdom, compared the mortality rate of patients managed with total knee arthroplasty (TKA) with patients who were awaiting TKA.

From 2000 to 2007, the researchers recorded all patients undergoing primary TKA and all patients who were added to the TKA waiting list. They calculated the mortality rate and time to death and retrieved death certificates for patients who died within 30 or 90 days after surgery.

For the 30-day mortality calculation, there were 2,695 primary TKA patients; there were 2,527 in the 90-day calculation. The researchers compared these patients with the 5,857 (30-day mortality) and 5,689 (90-day mortality) patients who were on the waiting list. All patients were similar in age and sex.

The researchers found that the 30-day mortality after TKA was significantly greater for the surgery group (0.371%) than for the waiting list group (0.683%). Similarly, the 90-day mortality was significantly higher in the surgery group (0.792%) than the waiting list group (0.387%). “Increasing age was a risk factor for death following total knee arthroplasty,” the authors wrote.