DALLAS — Results of a database review study presented here indicated a correlation between increased body mass index and 30-day complications for total joint arthroplasty; however, body mass index was not a strong predictor of this risk, according to the presenter.
“An increase in BMI confers an increased risk of early postoperative complications for primary arthroplasty patients, but the absolute risk difference is low until BMI gets over 50,” Derek T. Ward, MD, said during his presentation at the American Association for Hip and Knee Surgeons Annual Meeting. “BMI is a relatively poor predictor of risk.”
The review comprised 22,808 patients from the Veterans Affairs Surgical Quality Improvement Program database who underwent primary total joint arthroplasty (TJA) from 2006 to 2009. Ward noted 5,000 patients had a body mass index (BMI) greater than 40 and of those, 400 had a BMI greater than 50.
