According to recent research, patients who have a total hip replacement (THR) and then develop a periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) have a five-fold increased chance of dying within ten years. This important discovery, which was published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, emphasizes the grave long-term effects of infections that arise after surgery around prosthetic joints. Lead by scientists from ICES, Sunnybrook Research Institute, and the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, the study is one of the biggest to date and looks at the mortality risk linked to PJI in a cohort of 175,432 adults in Ontario, Canada.
Approximately one in seven Canadian adults suffer from osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease. Hip replacement procedures are a common and frequently successful treatment for those with this disease. The number of joint replacement procedures is anticipated to increase due to population aging. These operations are essential for increasing mobility and lowering pain in order to improve quality of life. Even though these procedures have a high success rate, one to two percent of patients experience prosthetic joint infections. Although uncommon, these diseases can have serious repercussions.
According to the study, 0.5% of patients who had hip replacements between 2002 and 2021 had to have extra surgery because they had a pressure joint injury (PJI) within a year after the first procedure. In this cohort, the 10-year mortality rate was significantly greater—11.4%—than that of individuals who did not have an illness (2.2%). Although PJIs are rare, lead author Dr. Raman Mundi stressed that they carry a significant long-term risk for patients, one that could even result in death.
The authors of the study think that there is more than just a link between PJI and higher mortality. Their conclusion was strengthened when they took into account factors including sex, age, wealth, and health. Furthermore, prior research has demonstrated that significant orthopedic occurrences, like hip fractures, also raise the mortality risk. This study’s huge cohort size and long follow-up time offer strong evidence of a connection between PJI and mortality.
To minimize pressure injuries to the joints (PJIs) and promote patient care, senior author Dr. Bheeshma Ravi and other experts advocate for increased cooperation between orthopedic surgeons and infectious disease specialists. They emphasize how crucial it is to develop efficient methods for treating and preventing infections, especially because hip replacement surgery is still an essential treatment for patients with advanced osteoarthritis.
SOURCE :
HINDUSTAN TIMES
