The Role of Allergies in Outcomes Following Shoulder, Knee, and Hip Arthroplasty: A Review

Abstract

Introduction The incidence of joint arthroplasty continues to rise globally with an aging population. There have been significant improvements in clinical outcomes and survivorship for shoulder, knee, and hip arthroplasty over the last few decades. Given the increasing incidence, significant emphasis has been placed on optimizing complication and revision rates after surgery. Allergies have become a recent area of focus in understanding patient risks for negative outcomes following arthroplasty. Methods A PubMed and Google Scholar search was performed to identify articles pertinent to the article topic. The keywords covered a comprehensive range of topics such as metal, antibiotic, and food allergies in addition to surgical interventions such as anatomic, reverse, and hemiarthroplasty. The literature review was performed independently by two authors and organized into an outline by a third author. Information relating to clinical outcomes, complication rates, and revision rates were extracted from the relevant articles. Results Preliminary research has been mixed; some studies suggest there is no significant disparity in outcomes based on number and type of allergies. However, other studies suggest there are higher rates of complications and worse clinical outcomes in patients with allergies. A key area of interest is the role that allergies may play in increasing the risk of postoperative infections in arthroplasty patients. Allergies remains an area of focus among shoulder, hip, and knee arthroplasty surgeons as they continue to optimize outcomes for patients. Conclusions Further research needs to be performed to better understand the relationship between allergies and outcomes following arthroplasty. While current research is mixed, there is enough literature suggestive of a relationship that this area merits an increased focus. An improvement in the understanding between allergies and postoperative outcomes will help improve patient satisfaction following arthroplasty.