Abstract
With a growing prevalence for chronic renal failure, arthroplasty surgeons will find
it more likely to have dialysis dependent patients present for knee replacement. Previous
retrospective studies using a matched cohort of patients have reported worse perioperative
outcomes for dialysis-dependent patients. However, many of these studies failed to
control for pertinent confounders. This study aims to fill in that void. The present
study compares lengths of stay, discharge status, and 30-day outcomes between dialysis-dependent
TKA recipients and a matched cohort of nondialysis dependent TKA recipients. The National
Surgical Quality Improvement Program database was used to identify the study cohorts.
Patients were propensity score matched based on patient-specific demographic variables,
preoperative functional status, and preoperative laboratory values. Generalized regression
models were conducted to assess the effects of dialysis dependency on perioperative
outcomes. Dialysis dependent patients demonstrated longer mean lengths of stay (+1.14)
and a lower likelihood for home discharge (odds ratio [OR] = 0.503). There was no
increased risk of 30-day complications in dialysis dependent TKA patients. Our findings
demonstrate no increased risk of 30-day complications after TKA when adjusting for
pertinent confounders. This suggests TKA is safe for well optimized dialysis dependent
patients prior to surgery.
Keywords
total knee arthroplasty - dialysis - perioperative outcomes - NSQIP - chronic kidney
disease