Aims The aim of this study was to determine the impact of the severity of anaemia on postoperative complications following total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the American College of Surgeons National Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) database. All patients who underwent primary TKA or THA between January 2012 and December 2017 were identified and stratified based upon hematocrit level. In this analysis, we defined anaemia as packed cell volume (Hct) < 36% for women and < 39% for men, and further stratified anaemia as mild anaemia (Hct 33% to 36% for women, Hct 33% to 39% for men), and moderate to severe (Hct < 33% for both men and women). Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to evaluate the incidence of multiple adverse events within 30 days of arthroplasty. Results Following adjustment, patients in the THA cohort with moderate to severe anaemia had an increased odds of 6.194 (95% confidence interval (CI) 5.679 to 6.756; p < 0.001) for developing any postoperative complication. Following adjustment, patients in the TKA cohort with moderate to severe anaemia had an increased odds of 5.186 (95% CI 4.811 to 5.590; p < 0.001) for developing any postoperative complication. Among both cohorts, as severity increased, there was an increased risk of postoperative complications. Conclusion Preoperative anaemia is a risk factor for complications following primary arthroplasty. There is a significant relationship between the severity of anaemia and the odds of postoperative complications. Patients who had moderate to severe anaemia were at increased risk of developing postoperative complications relative to patients with mild anaemia. When considering elective primary THA or TKA in a moderately or severely anaemic patient, surgeons should strongly consider correcting anaemia prior to surgery if possible. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2020;102-B(4):485–494.

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a common and effective treatment of knee osteoarthritis. As the amount of TKAs performed increases, so does the number of TKA failures and subsequent revisions. Diabetes mellitus (DM) has been shown to increase complications following orthopaedic procedures. For these reasons, it is important to understand the association between severity of DM and the risk of postoperative adverse events following revision TKA. A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the American College of Surgeons' National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database. Patients who underwent revision TKAs between 2007 and 2016 were identified and recorded as having noninsulin-dependent DM (NIDDM), insulin-dependent DM (IDDM), or no DM. Univariate and multivariate analysis were used to evaluate the incidence of multiple adverse events within 30 days after revision TKA. A total of 13,246 patients who underwent revision TKA were selected (without DM = 10,381 [78.4%]; NIDDM = 1,890 [14.3%]; IDDM = 975 [7.4%]). Patients with NIDDM were found to have an increased risk of developing renal insufficiency and urinary tract infection (UTI) compared with patients without DM, while patients with IDDM were found to have an increased risk of developing 10 of 20 adverse events compared with patients without DM. NIDDM is an independent risk factor for UTI and IDDM is an independent factor for development of three complications compared with no DM. Insulin dependency is an independent factor for septic shock, postoperative blood transfusion, and extended postoperative hospital stay. Relative to patients with NIDDM, those with IDDM have a greater likelihood of developing more adverse perioperative outcomes than patients without DM. Although complication rates remain relatively low, orthopaedic surgeons must consider the implications of diabetes and insulin dependence on patient selection, preoperative risk stratification, and postoperative outcomes.

Aims This study used an artificial neural network (ANN) model to determine the most important pre- and perioperative variables to predict same-day discharge in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods Data for this study were collected from the National Surgery Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database from the year 2018. Patients who received a primary, elective, unilateral TKA with a diagnosis of primary osteoarthritis were included. Demographic, preoperative, and intraoperative variables were analyzed. The ANN model was compared to a logistic regression model, which is a conventional machine-learning algorithm. Variables collected from 28,742 patients were analyzed based on their contribution to hospital length of stay. Results The predictability of the ANN model, area under the curve (AUC) = 0.801, was similar to the logistic regression model (AUC = 0.796) and identified certain variables as important factors to predict same-day discharge. The ten most important factors favouring same-day discharge in the ANN model include preoperative sodium, preoperative international normalized ratio, BMI, age, anaesthesia type, operating time, dyspnoea status, functional status, race, anaemia status, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Six of these variables were also found to be significant on logistic regression analysis. Conclusion Both ANN modelling and logistic regression analysis revealed clinically important factors in predicting patients who can undergo safely undergo same-day discharge from an outpatient TKA. The ANN model provides a beneficial approach to help determine which perioperative factors can predict same-day discharge as of 2018 perioperative recovery protocols. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2021;103-B(8):1358–1366.

To analyze the interaction between the route of hysterectomy for benign disease and postoperative morbidity among patients stratified by body mass index (BMI) and to test for a dose-dependent relationship between obesity severity and postoperative morbidity. Design: A retrospective cohort study. Patients: Benign hysterectomy cases were abstracted from the American College of Surgeons National Safety and Quality Improvement Program from 2005 to 2016. Cancer and prolapse surgeries were excluded by corresponding International Classification of Diseases and Current Procedural Terminology codes. Interventions: Laparoscopic hysterectomy.Measurements and Main Results: Associations between BMI, route of surgery, and categoric patient variables were examined using the chi-square test. Associations of BMI, route of surgery, and continuous patient variables were examined using 1-way analysis of variance. Associations of the route of surgery with binary outcomes were examined within BMI categories using the chi-square or Fisher exact test. Logistic regression and interaction tests were used for final outcomes of interest. There were 159 025 patients in the collected sample. Patients who underwent an abdominal hysterectomy had higher odds of composite morbidity if they were obese; the adjusted odds were 17% higher for class 1 obesity, 55% higher for class 2 obesity, and 163% higher for class 3 obesity. An abdominal hysterectomy was associated with worse postoperative outcomes when compared with a laparoscopic hysterectomy (p <.001). The risk of increased composite postoperative morbidity for patients undergoing a laparoscopic hysterectomy was not significantly different from the reference group until women had class 3 obesity; the odds of composite morbidity for class 3 obesity women become 31% higher than for nonobese patients. Conclusion: BMI directly impacts postoperative morbidity for both abdominal and laparoscopic hysterectomies although the effect is more pronounced after an abdominal hysterectomy. Roughly 40% of women undergoing a hysterectomy in the United States are obese. These data should motivate surgeons to consider ways to medically and surgically optimize patients, including weight reduction before hysterectomy and choosing a laparoscopic approach whenever possible to lower the risk of postoperative morbidity.

Introduction: Recently, the Federation of State Medical Boards and the National Board of Medical Examiners, cosponsors of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), changed the USMLE Step 1 results from a three-digit score to a pass/fail format. The purpose of this study was to analyze the opinions of program directors (PDs) to predict how the evaluation of orthopaedic surgery residency applicants will change following the change. Methods: A 17-question online survey was distributed to PDs via e-mail. This survey covered program demographics, questions regarding the relative importance of various factors for selection of interviews, and perceived changes and effect of the scoring change. Responses were aggregated and analyzed. Results: PDs indicated that the three highest scored factors were (1) failure in prior attempts in USMLE/COMLEX examinations (4.7), (2) audition elective/rotation within your department (4.5), and (3) personal prior knowledge of the applicant (4.1). In addition, 38 PDs (81.1%) anticipate that they will require USMLE Step 2 clinical knowledge scores for interview consideration. Conclusion: Most orthopaedic surgery PDs think that the change in score reporting for the USMLE Step 1 will result in additional requirements and changes in how programs select applicants and do not support the decision.