Effect of Hypothyroidism on Complications in Patients Undergoing TKA in Indian Population

The number of hypothyroidism patients undergoing total knee replacement (TKA) in India is increasing. It is assumed that patients with hypothyroidism are more prone to complications following surgery. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of hypothyroidism on the complications following TKA.

This is a case-control analysis of patients who underwent primary total knee replacement in our hospital from 2017 to 2019. A total of 600 patients were included in the study, of which 300 patients were with hypothyroidism. We compared with a matched cohort of another 300 patients without hypothyroidism as control group.

A total of 600 patients were analyzed (Hypothyroid group n = 300, Control group n = 300). The medical complications were found to be 6.2% in the hypothyroid group compared to 4% in control group (p = 1.66, odds ratio 0.61). Surgical complications in the hypothyroid group were 3% compared to 0.6% in control group (p = 4.53, odds ratio = 0.21), overall complication rates were not significant statistically when compared between hypothyroid and control group (p = 5.01, odds ratio 0.47). Subgroup analysis of complications of hypothyroid patients with euthyroid status versus uncontrolled hypothyroidism was done and we found no statistical difference in complications.

The conclusion can be that the rate of hospital stay, surgical site infections and complications were higher in hypothyroid group when compared with control group though statistically not significant.