Perioperative Complications after Hip and Knee Revision Arthroplasty in the over 80 Years Old Population: A Retrospective Observational Case-Control Study

The number of joint revision arthroplasties has increased in the elderly population, which is burdened by several perioperative risks.

Patients who underwent hip and knee revision arthroplasty were retrospectively included, and they were divided into two groups by age: <80 years old (Group 1) and ≥80 years old (Group 2). The primary outcome was to compare perioperative complication rates. The secondary outcome was to compare the 30-day, 90-day, and 1-year readmission rates.

In total, 74 patients in Group 1 and 75 patients in Group 2 were included. Postoperative anemia affected 13 patients in Group 1 (17.6%) and 25 in Group 2 (33.3%, p 0.027); blood units were transfused in 20 (26.7%) and 11 (14.9%, p 0.076) patients, respectively. In Group 1, two (2.7%) patients reported wound infection. In Group 2, eight (10.7%) patients presented hematomas, and two (2.7%) patients reported dislocations. No significant differences in the two groups were observed for 30-day (p 0.208), 90-day (p 0.273), or 1-year readmission rates (p 0.784).

The revision arthroplasty procedure in patients over 80 years old is not associated with a higher risk of perioperative complications, or higher readmission rate compared with younger patients undergoing hip and knee revision surgery.