Complications and Readmissions After Total Knee Replacement in Octogenarians and Nonagenarians

Introduction:From 2000 to 2010, the cohort of patients aged 85 to 94 years had the fastest growth rate increasing in size by approximately 30%. The need for total knee arthroplasty (TKA) continues to increase with a larger percentage of patients older than 80 years requiring TKA. The purpose of our study was to examine the rate and risks of 30-day complications and unplanned readmission in patients older than 80 years.Materials and Methods:The National Surgical Quality Improvement Project database for the years 2008 to 2014 was queried for patients older than 80 years undergoing TKA. The risks of major complications, minor complications, bleeding occurrences, unplanned readmissions, and deaths over a 30-day period were examined using univariate and multivariate analyses.Results:Overall, 12 026 patients were included for analysis. In all, 422 (3.5%) experienced a major complication, 2316 (19.3%) experienced a minor complication, 2074 (17.2%) had a bleeding occurrence requiring transfusion, and 566 (4.7%) e...