The impact of chronic kidney disease on postoperative complications in patients undergoing revision total knee arthroplasty: A propensity matched analysis

Abstract

ObjectivesThough the role of chronic kidney disease (CKD) has been studied previously in primary arthroplasty procedures of the hips and knees, there is a paucity of literature analyzing CKD's impact on surgical outcomes in revision total knee arthroplasty (rTKA) patients. As the number of patients with CKD requiring revision surgery increases, more vigilant pre-operative and post-operative measures can be taken to ensure successful outcomes. This retrospective study sought to 1) determine differences in demographics and preoperative comorbidities of patients with normal or mild CKD and those with moderate/severe CKD and 2) establish moderate/severe CKD as an independent risk factor for complications in the 30-day postoperative period in patients undergoing rTKA. MethodsThe ACS-NSQIP database was queried for patients who had undergone rTKA from 2005 to 2016. Patient were assigned to one of five CKD severity classes after eGFR calculation and were further stratified into two cohorts: stages 1/2 vs. stages 3/4/5. After propensity matching to generate a matched normal/mild CKD cohort of rTKA patients, univariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess differences and the impact of severe CKD on the risk for complications. ResultsThere were significant differences in several demographic features, comorbidities, and complications between the two cohorts upon univariate analyses. Upon multivariate analyses, CKD of moderate/severe/failure status was found to be a significant independent risk factor for acute renal failure (OR 18.097, 95% CI 4.970–65.902, p < 0.001), blood transfusions (OR 1.697, 95% CI 1.500–1.919, p < 0.001), return to the operating room (OR 1.257, 95% CI 1.009–1.566, p = 0.041), extended length of stay (OR 1.707, 95% CI 1.292–2.255, p < 0.001), and mortality (OR 2.165, 95% CI 1.116–4.200, p = 0.022) in the 30-day postoperative period. ConclusionThis current study found moderate/severe CKD to be an independent risk factor for several complications and should guide healthcare professionals for better patient-optimization. Orthopaedic surgeons should factor in CKD severity in the management of patients undergoing rTKA to effectively mitigate the effects of adverse events.