This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Current smoking status linked with risk of reoperation for infection after TJA

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .

Subscribe

Added to email alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

You've successfully added to your alerts. You will receive an email when new content is published.

Click Here to Manage Email Alerts

Back to Healio

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact customerservice@slackinc.com.

Back to Healio

PHILADELPHIA — After controlling for confounding factors, researchers of a study presented here found patients who currently smoke had a significantly increased risk of reoperation for infection within 90 days of total joint arthroplasty compared with non-smokers and former smokers had an increased risk of reoperation for any reason.

“Current smoking increases the risk of reoperation due to infection within 90 days of surgery in total joint patients,” Antonia F. Chen, MD, MBA, said in her presentation at the Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society Fall Scientific Meeting. “Patient indication is key. What some surgeons have instituted is not just taking a patient’s word for quitting smoking, but testing them — doing a urine test of nicotine [and] cotinine — and actually finding that they quit. Then once they quit, [the surgeon] will take them to surgery.”

Chen and her colleagues stratified 15,000 patients who underwent total joint arthroplasty according to smoking status: current, former or non-smoker. Reasons for readmission were categorized as septic, non-septic and nonoperative.

When comparing current smokers with non-smokers, Chen noted septic reoperation was two-times more likely for current smokers. However, there was no significant difference in the rate of aseptic reoperation or the rate of nonoperative readmissions between the groups. Chen said no patients experienced nonunion; however, the results showed implant loosening.

“There was no significant difference between current and former smokers with regards to reoperations or readmissions,” Chen said. “So even if a patient quit smoking, the question is, ‘Does that make a big difference or not?’” — by Casey Tingle

Reference:

Tischler EH, et al. Smoking leads to more reoperations for infection within 90 days after total joint arthroplasty. Presented at: Pennsylvania Orthopaedic Society Fall Scientific Meeting; Oct. 15-16, 2015; Philadelphia.

Disclosure: Chen reports no relevant financial disclosures.