Prospective study on the incidence of complications in knee arthroplasty UCAL-Spanish Association

OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to determine the morbidity and mortality at 3 and 6 months after surgery of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty at the Unidad de Cirugía del Aparato Locomotor (UCAL) of the Asociación Española de Socorros Mutuos (a medical institution). METHODS: In a prospective single cohortstudy, all patients undergoing primary totalkneearthroplastyatUCALinthe periodbetween Mayand December2011were included, totalizing 140 arthroplasties .A 4 of them failed to complete follow them, so that the results of 136 primary knee arthroplasties using different functional scores were evaluated, findings, comorbidities and complications encounteredwere described. RESULTS: The mortality at follow-upinthe populationwas 0%. Seven patients (5,14%) had complications, including 2patients (1.47%) who had a deep infection. The rateof readmissionandreoperationof our populationwas 4,4% (6 patients). Patients which had no previous comorbidities were a 16,9% The most frequent comorbidity was hypertension present in 65,4% of our patients. All patients with complications had at least 3 comorbidities. Most patients improved their functional dependence by 3% improved their quality of life by 80%, and above all reduced their symptoms especially pain by 66%. CONCLUSION: All patients with complications had 3 or more comorbidities. In the study population 32% of patients with 3 or more comorbidities suffered any complications. There were no complications in the group of patients with less than 3 comorbidities regardless of age this being statistically significant. We conclude that having 3 or more comorbidities increased the risk of complications this being statistically significant.