One complication patients with sickle cell disease face is osteonecrosis of the femoral head, requiring treatment with total hip arthroplasty. This study, published in HIP International, analyzed the impact of sickle cell disease on postoperative outcomes following total hip arthroplasty.
Patients were identified using a national insurance claims database along with relevant CPT and ICD-9/10 codes. All patients included underwent total hip arthroplasty with at least two years of follow-up. Cohorts included patients with sickle cell disease and osteonecrosis, osteonecrosis without sickle cell disease, or osteoarthritis without sickle cell disease. Each cohort included 881 patients.
Ultimately, it was found that the cohort with sickle cell disease exhibited significantly higher complications within 90 days, and a significantly higher rate of 2-year revision for prosthetic joint infection and aseptic loosening when compared to the other cohorts.
The researchers concluded that the sickle cell disease cohort had an increased risk for postoperative complications following total hip arthroplasty. A call to action is made to provide this population with appropriate counseling and perioperative care to minimize postoperative complications [1].
Source:
[1] Gu, A., Agarwal, A. R., Fassihi, S. C., Pollard, T. G., Stoll, W. T., Campbell, J. C., Golladay, G. J., & Thakkar, S. C. (2021). Impact of sickle cell disease on postoperative outcomes following total hip arthroplasty. HIP International. https://doi.org/10.1177/11207000211052224
