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Obese patients experienced increased complication rate with direct anterior THA
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Compared with patients who were at a normal or pre-obese weight, patients who were obese experienced a significantly increased complication rate when they underwent total hip arthroplasty using a direct anterior approach, according to study results.
Researchers retrospectively reviewed early perioperative data for 210 patients with osteoarthritis (OA) or avascular necrosis who underwent unilateral total hip arthroplasty (THA) through a direct anterior approach. Overall, 61 patients had a normal BMI, 70 patients were pre-obese and 79 patients were obese according to WHO classification.
When investigators compared normal and pre-obese patients to a combined group of WHO class I, II and III obese patients, they found wound complication rates of 3% in patients with a BMI less than 30 and 10% in the combined group. Patients who were obese had a major complication rate of 6.3% compared with a 0.8% major complication rate for normal and pre-obese patients. Overall, researchers found six major complications, with five major complications occurring in the obese group and one occurring in the pre-obese group.
According to study results, patients in the obese group experienced increased surgical times by 12.7 minutes, an increased length of stay, narcotic use and assistive device use at 2 weeks. Results also showed patients who were obese had a trend toward increased use of rehabilitation facilities. – by Casey Tingle
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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