Description

Wymenga et al identified perioperative risk factors for late septic arthritis of a prosthetic hip replacement. This can help identify patients who may benefit from closer monitoring and more aggressive management. The authors are from University Hospital Nijmegen in The Netherlands.


Perioperative risk factors identified on multivariate analysis:

(1) diabetes mellitus

(2) failed fracture osteosynthesis

(3) breakdown in sterility during the operation

(4) surgical site infection

(5) postoperative urinary tract infection

(6) unhealed surgical wound (at discharge from the hospital)

(7) slow and difficult rehabilitation

(8) reoperation

 

Additional factors (not independent on multivariate analysis):

(1) moderate and severe hematoma formation

(2) presence of a decubitus ulcer

 

where:

• The time of discharge after surgery was not mentioned. Expedited discharge from the hospital to a rehabilitation facility may result in false positive responses today. The wording in the spreadsheet has been changed from "at discharge from the hospital" to "completion of post-operative care".


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