Patients Undergoing Primary Total Joint Arthroplasty with Primary Hypercoagulable States

OBJECTIVE: To analyze perioperative complications, resource consumption, and inpatient mortality of patients who receive total joint arthroplasty (TJA) with a concomitant diagnosis of a primary hypercoagulable state (PHS). The following questions were posed in the present paper. First, do patients undergoing TJA with PHS have increased risk of deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and periprosthetic joint infection (PJI)? Second, what other in-hospital complications are more likely among PHS patients undergoing TJA? Third, do TJA patients with PHS usually consume greater in-hospital resources? Fourth, do PHS patients suffer higher mortality rates compared to non-PHS patients? Finally, have PHS patients received proper anticoagulant management in past arthroplasties? RESULTS: From 2003 to 2014, a total of 2,044,356 patients were identified in the NIS as undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in the United States. A total of 4664 patients (0.2%) were identified as having PHS. Compared with the non-PHS group, TJA patients with PHS had a higher risk of DVT (THA: odds ratio [OR] = 8.343, 95% CI: 5.362-12.982, P < 0.001; TKA: OR = 4.712, 95% CI: 3.560-6.238, P < 0.001) but did not have increased risk of PE (THA: OR = 1.306, 95% CI: 0.48-3.555, P = 0.602; TKA: OR = 1.143, 95% CI: 0.687-1.903), and only PHS patients in the THA group had higher risks of inpatient mortality (OR = 3.184, 95% CI: 1.348-7.522, P = 0.008) and periprosthetic joint infection (OR = 3.343, 95% CI: 1.084-10.879, P = 0.036). In addition, PHS patients had extended length of stay, higher total costs, and increased risks of certain other complications, such as peripheral vascular disease, hemorrhage, and thrombophlebitis. CONCLUSION: In the present study, PHS patients had higher risks of DVT, greater in-hospital resource consumption, and certain other perioperative complications. However, PHS was not associated with increased risk of PE in TJA patients in the United States between 2003 and 2014. While potential hazards of PHS have already been recognized, the present study revealed additional concerns and demonstrated that further improvements in the perioperative management of patients with hereditary hypercoagulable disorders are essential.