Regional versus general anesthesia for total hip and knee arthroplasty: a nationwide retrospective cohort study

We aimed to determine whether regional anesthesia (RA) has any advantages over general anesthesia (GA) in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) in terms of mortality and postoperative complications.

This population-based retrospective cohort study included data of adults who underwent total knee or hip arthroplasty under RA or GA between 2016 and 2021 from the National Health Insurance Service of South Korea. RA included spinal or epidural anesthesia or a combination of both. Endpoints were 30-day mortality, 90-day mortality, and postoperative complications. Propensity score (PS) matching was used for statistical analysis.

We included 517 960 patients (RA, n=380 698; GA, n=137 262) who underwent TJA. After PS matching, 186 590 patients (93 295 in each group) were included in the final analysis. In the logistic regression analyses using the PS-matched cohort, the RA group compared with the GA group showed 31% (OR: 0.69; 95% CI, 0.60 to 0.80; p<0.001) and 22% (OR: 0.78; 95% CI, 0.72 to 0.85; p<0.001) lower 30-day and 90-day mortality rates, respectively. However, the total postoperative complication rate did not differ significantly between the two groups (p=0.105).

RA compared with GA was associated with improved 30-day and 90-day survival outcomes in patients who underwent TJA. However, the postoperative complication rate did not differ significantly. Therefore, our results should be interpreted with caution, and more well-designed future studies are needed to clarify the most appropriate type of anesthesia for TJA.