Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a common surgical procedure in the elderly. Varying degrees of cognitive impairment (CI) are frequently seen in this patient population. To date, there has been no systematic review of the literature specifically examining the impact of CI on outcomes after elective THA. The aim of this systematic review was to identify studies that compare the postoperative outcomes of patients with and without CI after undergoing elective primary THA. Design: We conducted a systematic review of prospective and retrospective studies. A systematic literature review was conducted by searching MEDLINE, PubMed, and Embase from between January 1, 1997 and January 1, 2018. A total of 234 articles were reviewed and 22 studies were selected. Setting: Operating room and short-term and long-term postoperative recovery up to 2 years. Patients: Patients with CI who underwent an elective primary THA that required general anesthesia with a comparator group of patients who did not have dementia. Interventions: Patients who underwent elective primary total hip arthroplasty. Measurements: Outcomes included post-operative delirium (POD), mortality and other complications, discharge disposition, length of stay (LOS), mortality, short-term (30 days) and long-term (1 month-2 years) complications. Main results: 22 studies with 5,705,302 participants were included in the systematic review. Sample sizes varied greatly, ranging from 14 to 2,924,995 participants. There was an association between patients with CI and an increase in POD, in-hospital mortality, complications during hospitalization, non-routine disposition, LOS, mortality between 1 month to 2 years, and worse postoperative functional status. Conclusions: We demonstrate that there are strong associations between patients with pre-existing CI undergoing THA and increased POD, hospital mortality, hospital complications, and hospital LOS. We report good quality evidence linking complications after THA to preexisting CI. Screening for CI can improve care and better predict the risk of developing postoperative complications such as delirium. Further investigations can address perioperative factors that can help reduce complications and show the utility of more widespread assessment of preoperative cognitive impairment.

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BackgroundThe inability to communicate effectively in a common language can jeopardize clinicians’ efforts to provide quality patient care. Professional medical interpreters (PMIs) can help provide linguistically appropriate health care, in particular for the >25 million Americans who identify speaking English less than very well. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between use of PMIs and quality of acute ischemic stroke care received by patients who preferred to have their medical care in languages other than English.Methods and ResultsWe analyzed data from 259 non–English‐preferring acute ischemic stroke patients who participated in the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines–Stroke program at our hospital from January 1, 2003, to April 30, 2014. We used descriptive statistics and logistic regression models to examine associations between involvement of PMIs and patients’ receipt of defect‐free stroke care. A total of 147 of 259 (57%) non–English‐preferring patients received PMI services during their hospital stays. Multivariable analyses adjusting for other socioeconomic factors showed that acute ischemic stroke patients who did not receive PMIs had lower odds of receiving defect‐free stroke care (odds ratio: 0.52; P=0.04).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that PMIs may influence the quality of acute ischemic stroke care.

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Introduction:To evaluate the body of evidence on the predictive value of preoperative cognitive impairment on in-hospital, short-term, and midterm postoperative outcomes for elderly patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA).Significance:With an aging population, an increasing percentage of the U.S. patient population will be living with cognitive impairment. There is currently no systematic review that assesses postoperative outcomes of patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or preexisting diagnosis of dementia while undergoing elective primary TKA.Results:A database search between January 1, 1997, and November 1, 2017 in EMBASE, MEDLINE, and PubMed was conducted to identify articles that compared postoperative outcomes after TKA between patients aged 60 years with and without cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment included preexisting diagnosis of dementia or MCI identified during preoperative assessment. Eligible articles were selected using dual reviewer and third-party arbitrator. The quality of the studies was evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The strength of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach. A total of 6163 abstracts were screened. Only 11 full text articles met inclusion criteria, including 1 case–control, 5 prospective cohort, and 5 retrospective cohort studies. Two studies were of poor quality. Overall, there is moderate strength of evidence for increased risk of postoperative delirium, increased length of stay, and discharge to health-care facility among patients with preoperative MCI or preexisting dementia. The body of evidence is weak for other outcomes of interest including mortality, functionality and complications while in-hospital and in the short- and midterm.Conclusion:This review highlights the need for additional good quality studies to provide more information about MCI and dementia as risk factors in primary TKA.