Abstract
Introduction: Knee arthroplasty is exposed to demographic changes as patients age. An analysis of risk factors for surgical treatment decisions in patients over 80 years old is crucial. This study compared perioperative complications between groups of patients undergoing primary knee arthroplasty, under 60 years old and over 80 years old.Materials and Methods: For this retrospective study, data from 400 patients with primary cemented bi- and unicondylar total knee endoprosthesis during inpatient stay from 2017 to 2018 were analyzed. Patients aged 61-79 years (257) were excluded. An analysis of the remaining 143 patients was performed. The incidence of surgery-related and systemic complications (eg, urinary tract infections, electrolyte imbalances, and cases of pneumonia), the blood supply and C-reactive protein (CRP) as well as hemoglobin progression were compared across both age groups. Furthermore, a correlation between prevalent diseases and systemic complications were investigated. Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS (Armonk, US).Results: Data analyses showed a significant difference in the occurrence of systemic complications and blood transfusion between the age groups (P = 0.001, phi = 0.44; phi= 0.55, P = 0.001). Surgical complications did not differ significantly between the age groups. Age-typical pre-existing conditions, especially arterial hypertension (P = 0.003), showed a significant association with the occurrence of systemic complications. In addition, high postoperative CRP values in elderly patients revealed an association to systemic complications (P = 0.008).Discussion and Conclusion: The study shows that primary cemented knee arthroplasty is a safe procedure without an increased incidence of surgical complications, even in elderly patients. The increased incidence of internal complications in octogenarians, in turn, should receive more attention in the perioperative course. The interdisciplinary preoperative optimization of pre-existing conditions and drug therapy, as well as close interdisciplinary assessments of elderly patients, should be ensured.