Summaries of Must-Read Clinical Literature, Guidelines, and FDA Actions
Complications and Costs After Total Hip Arthroplasty in Patients With a History of Prostate Cancer
Key clinical point: Patients with a history of prostate cancer (PCa) do not have increased risk of short-term complications after total hip arthroplasty and the mean 90-day reimbursements were similar for both groups at $14,153 for PCa patients and $14,033 for those without.
Major finding: After 90-days post-operation, pneumonia rates increased for those without a history of PCa, and other complications were clinically comparable in both groups.
Study details: 2 groups of patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis in the Medicare Standard Analytical Files were identified through the PearlDiver server, then were analyzed using a case-control study comparison.
Rosas S, et al. J Arthroplasty. 2019 Jun 28. doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2019.06.052.
Any clinically relevant increased risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE) poses challenges for those who undergoing a total hip arthroplasty (THA). Cancer is known to be associated with increased VTE risk post-THA. However, different cancers may be associated with different levels of post-THA VTE risk. Identification of these risks may lead to improved stratification and management of patients undergoing THA. Rosas et al. conducted a case-control study to study this question in prostate cancer. Their conclusion that the short-term thromboembolic complication risk was not elevated provides some support for utilizing THA in prostate cancer patients who may benefit from this procedure. —Mark A. Klein, MD