Mortality of elderly patients after two-stage reimplantation for total joint infection: a case-control study

The mortality of two-stage reimplantation for periprosthetic joint infection in patients over the age of 80 has not previously been studied. We retrospectively reviewed 134 elderly patients undergoing two-stage reimplantation at 90 days, 1 year and 5 years and compared them to a matched cohort who underwent single-stage aseptic total joint revision. There was no significant difference in preoperative comorbidities between groups. The mortality rates for the two-stage and aseptic groups were 39.9% and 34.1% respectively with an overall mortality rate of 36.7%. There was no significant difference in mortality at any time point (95% CI: 29.4, 43.1). Two-stage reimplantation does not significantly increase the mortality of patients over the age of 80 when compared to a matched cohort undergoing aseptic revision at our institution.