Seasonal variations in the incidence of deep vein thrombosis following total knee or hip arthroplasty

Abstract

Objective To explore the difference in the incidence of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA) between different seasons. Methods The present retrospective study examined 2 363 patients undergoing TKA or THA from August 2008 to February 2016. There were 653 male and 1 710 female with the average age of 64.44±13.03 years old (17-91 years old), including 954 patients in TKA and 1 409 in THA. All of the patients received anticoagulant drugs and were compressed with a pressure pump starting on the first postoperative night. Routine venography of the bilateral lower limbs was performed at 3-5 days after the operation. The incidence of DVT in different seasons and different age groups (≥65 years old and <65 years old) were counted. Results The present study suggested that the probabilities of DVT after arthroplasty in spring, summer, fall and winter were 15.85% (116/732), 14.92% (71/476), 17.88% (108/604), 22.50% (124/551) respectively with significantly difference (P 0.05). The probability of DVT following arthroplasty in older patients (age≥65 years old) in spring, summer, fall and winter were 18.49% (76/411), 16.61% (45/271), 22.07% (81/367), 28.05% (99/353) with significantly difference among the groups (P 0.05). The probability of symptomatic DVT in four seasons were 2.49% (8/321), 2.93% (6/205), 3.80% (9/237), 3.54% (7/198) in younger patients ( 0.05). Conclusion Seasonal variations could place an important effect on the incidence of DVT following TKA or THA, especially for the old patients with age ≥65 years. Key words: Arthroplasty, replacement, knee; Arthroplasty, replacement, hip; Seasons; Venous thrombosis; Lower extremity