Improvements in THA care pathways may yield better outcomes in morbidly obese patients
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Published results showed no “growing disparity” in complication rates between morbidly obese and non-morbidly obese patients who undergo total hip arthroplasty.
To determine if reductions in THA-related complications have similarly improved for morbidly obese and non-morbidly obese patients, David E. DeMik, MD, PharmD, and colleagues from the University of Iowa Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation analyzed 234,334 patients who underwent THA, 7.8% of which (n = 16,979) had a BMI of greater than or equal to 40 kg/m2.
According to the study, outcome measures included 30-day infectious complication rates, readmissions, reoperation and any other complications. Researchers used odds ratios and multivariate analyses to compare outcomes between morbidly obese and non-morbidly obese patients.
Overall, DeMik and colleagues found patients with a BMI of greater than or equal to 40 kg/m2 were at “significantly higher odds” for readmission, reoperation and infectious complications. However, there were improvements in readmission rates for morbidly obese patients, and there were improvements in both readmission and reoperation rates for non-morbidly obese patients.
“Despite morbidly obese patients being at an elevated risk for complications, there does not appear to be a growing disparity of risk between morbidly obese and non-morbidly obese patients,” the researchers wrote in the study. “Morbidly obese patients do benefit from primary THA, and elevated perioperative risk is an important aspect of presurgical counseling,” they concluded.
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