title: Medical clearance risk rating as a predictor of perioperative complications after total hip arthroplasty.
abstract: Hip arthroplasty has become the standard treatment of end-stage osteoarthritis. However, postoperative complications are the risks associated with joint arthroplasty, which most significantly impact patient results and the total cost of care. Currently, no predictive system has been developed for categorizing levels of risk for the development of postoperative complications in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. We examined the association between the medical clearance risk rating by the physician performing the preoperative clearance examination and postoperative complications after total hip arthroplasty. We have demonstrated a significant association between the medical clearance risk rating and postoperative urinary track infection, and the American Society of Anesthesiologist score but no significant association to other complications. This study presents a predictive patient characteristic that may help us identify among our patients the ones that may benefit from a personally tailored preoperative planning and evaluation but demonstrates further work is necessary to better predict the risk of complications after total hip arthroplasty.
authors.affiliation: Division of Adult Reconstruction Surgery, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases, New York, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwarzkopf
authors.forename: Gregory
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Lafferty
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Slover
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip; D002648:Child; D003955:Diagnostic Tests, Routine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000453:epidemiology; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000453:epidemiology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013530:Surgical Wound Infection / Q000453:epidemiology; D020246:Venous Thrombosis / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult