AuditThirty-Day mortality after elective hip and knee arthroplasty

BackgroundHip and knee arthroplasties are very common operations in the UK with over 150,000 hip and knee arthroplasties taking place in England and Wales in 2011. Fortunately mortality following these operations is rare. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and causes of death within 30 days after undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty in our unit and to highlight possible risk factors.MethodsWe looked at 30-day mortality in all patients undergoing hip or knee arthroplasty in our institution between 2005 and 2011. Data on post-operative deaths was requested from the Information Services Division (ISD) and correlated with procedural and demographic data from our hospital Patient Administration System (PAS). The notes of all patients who died within 30 days were reviewed to collect data on co-morbid conditions, pre-operative investigations, post-operative thromboprophylaxis and cause of death. All primary and revision knee and hip arthroplasties including bilateral procedures were included. Arthroplasty for trauma was excluded.Results12,243 patients underwent hip or knee arthroplasty within the study period. The male:female ratio was 2:3. The mean age was 68 with a range of 21-91. Ten patients died giving a 30-day mortality rate of 0.08%. The most common cause of death was myocardial infarction (7/10 patients).ConclusionsOur finding of a mortality rate of 0.08% is similar or lower to those found in previous studies. To our knowledge this is the first series of this size looking at mortality from hip and knee arthroplasty within a single centre in the UK.