Correlation between nutritional status and Staphylococcus colonization in hip and knee replacement patients

Area of Science:

• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Infectious Disease
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Poor nutritional status in orthopaedic patients increases postoperative complication risks, including infection and impaired wound healing.
• Nasal colonization by Staphylococcus aureus, particularly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), is a known risk factor for surgical-site infections (SSIs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the incidence of nutritional depletion in arthroplasty patients.
• To investigate the correlation between nutritional status and Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization in this patient population.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of prospectively collected data from 652 arthroplasty patients.
• Collected data included patient demographics, preoperative nasal cultures for Staphylococcus aureus, and two validated nutritional screening scores.
• Compared patients with known Staphylococcus aureus colonization or SSIs to a random patient cohort.

Main Results:

• A significant percentage of patients (27%) exhibited preoperative nutritional depletion.
• No statistically significant association was found between overall nutritional scores and surgery type.
• No significant association was observed between nutritional status, preoperative nasal Staphylococcus aureus colonization, or surgical-site infection.

Conclusions:

• Nutritional depletion is prevalent in the arthroplasty patient population prior to joint replacement surgery.
• In this cohort, preoperative nutritional status did not appear to be a significant predictor of Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization or surgical-site infection.