title: Lunar phase does not influence perioperative complications in total hip arthroplasty.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lunar calendars, publishing recommendations for daily life, are gaining more and more attention in Germany, where 10.5% of the population believe in lunar effects on disease. A widespread and often heard belief is that a full moon has the most negative effects on surgical outcome. The present study evaluates the effects of lunar phase on perioperative complications in total hip arthroplasty.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective study with 305 patients being provided with a primary hip arthroplasty. To identify possible influences of the lunar phase on perioperative complications we investigated data such as operation length, blood loss and course of C-reactive protein that were collected during the patients' stay in the hospital and allocated them to moon illumination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no significant differences in all collected data concerning the lunar phase (p > 0.05). Although not statistically significant, there were fewer operations during the full moon phase.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Therefore there is no evidence that lunar phase has an effect on perioperative complications in total hip arthroplasty. Fewer, though not significantly fewer, operations were performed during the full moon phase. Although this was not a prospective randomized trial, the statistical magnitude of the results does not support any recommendations for scheduling patients for total hip arthroplasty at any particular day of the lunar phase.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ficklscherer
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Angermann
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Weber
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wegener
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pietschmann
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Müller