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Joint-Replacement Failure Rate Higher for Smokers: Studies
Posted 20 Apr 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, April 20 – Knee and hip replacements are more likely to fail in smokers than nonsmokers, according to two new studies. One study of 621 patients, including 131 smokers, who underwent total knee replacement found that the rate of knee-replacement failure was 10 times higher among smokers than nonsmokers – 10 percent vs. 1 percent. Smokers also had a higher rate of medical complications than nonsmokers – 21 percent vs. 12 percent. Complications included blood clots, anemia, heart problems and acute kidney failure. The second study included hundreds of patients who underwent reconstruction of the acetabulum (the cup-shaped cavity at the base of the hip bone) with ultraporous metal, which is said to result in fewer failures than standard metal. The failure rate in smokers was 9.1 percent, compared to 3.4 percent in nonsmokers. The studies were presented recently at the annual ... Read more
Related support groups: Smoking, Knee Joint Replacement, Hip Replacement
Skin Tests Catch Metal Sensitivity Before Joint Replacement
Posted 24 Feb 2012 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Feb. 24 – Testing patients for metal hypersensitivity before they receive joint or bone implants helps identify those at increased risk for complications due to metal hypersensitivity, a new study shows. The researchers noted that nickel is a common component in alloys (a mixture of two or more metals) and is also a leading cause of contact dermatitis (allergic skin reaction) associated with metals. The study included 31 patients who underwent skin patch testing for metal hypersensitivity before receiving joint or bone implants (preimplantation group) and 41 who were tested after they received an implant (postimplantation group). Among those in the preimplantation group, 21 (68 percent) reacted to one metal and 15 reacted to more than one metal. For all patients who reacted to metals, surgeons used an implant that did not include metal. None of these patients developed skin ... Read more
Related support groups: Knee Joint Replacement, Hip Replacement
Joint Replacement Patients Face Blood Clot Risk in Hospital
Posted 17 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Jan. 17 – One of every 100 people undergoing knee replacement surgery and 1 of 200 people having hip replacement surgery will develop a blood clot before they leave the hospital, even if they take steps to prevent the development of these blood clots, a new evidence review suggests. A deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or blood clot can form deep within the veins, usually in the leg. The real risk occurs if these blood clots dislodge, travel through your bloodstream, and block blood flow in your lungs, which is called pulmonary embolism. The new study, published in the Jan. 18 Journal of the American Medical Association, seeks to provide a reliable benchmark of this risk, but many experts in the field worry that the actual risk of blood clots after joint replacement is really much higher than this study suggests. Researchers led by Jean-Marie Januel, of the Lausanne University ... Read more
Related support groups: Knee Joint Replacement, Hip Replacement, Deep Vein Thrombosis Prophylaxis after Knee Replacement Surgery, Deep Vein Thrombosis Prophylaxis after Hip Replacement Surgery
Titanium Joint Debris May Trigger Painful Inflammation
Posted 28 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, Nov. 28 – Patients who receive artificial joints made with titanium may develop painful inflammation that could destroy bone and loosen the new joint, according to a new study of mice published by the Journal of Immunology. Contrary to previous studies that blamed bacteria for the inflammation, researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey reported that tiny titanium particles that flake off the artificial joints through normal wear and tear may be the cause of the inflammation. The type of inflammatory response triggered, known as a Th2 response, is more commonly associated with allergic responses and parasitic worm infections, the researchers said in a university news release. The titanium particles, which were seen an invading parasites or allergens, resulted in the generation of immune cells called "alternatively activated macrophages" in the mice. ... Read more
Related support groups: Knee Joint Replacement, Hip Replacement
Painkiller Dependence Before Knee Surgery May Slow Recovery
Posted 18 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Nov. 18 – Recovery after knee replacement surgery can be much more difficult if patients are dependent on powerful opioid painkillers before the procedure, a new study shows. Opioids are narcotics such as morphine, codeine and oxycodone. U.S. researchers compared results of 49 knee replacements in opioid-dependent patients against recovery rates for a group of patients not dependent on narcotics. They found that patients who were opioid-dependent before surgery tended to have longer hospital stays, more unexplained pain or stiffness, a higher rate of complications and were more likely to require additional surgery, compared to patients who were not opioid-dependent. The study was published Nov. 2 in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. "We expected to find that the opioid-dependent patients have worse outcomes. But the differences between the two groups of patients were even ... Read more
Related support groups: Pain, Methadone, Oxycodone, OxyContin, Hydrocodone, Morphine, Fentanyl, Subutex, Opana, Codeine, Dilaudid, Opana ER, Roxicodone, MS Contin, Nucynta
Early Rehab May Help Speed Recovery After Knee Surgery
Posted 8 Mar 2011 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, March 7 – The sooner rehabilitation begins after knee replacement, the better for both patients and hospitals, new research suggests. In the study, published March 7 in the journal Clinical Rehabilitation, Spanish researchers compared more than 150 patients who began rehabilitation within 24 hours after knee arthroplasty surgery and a matched control group of patients who began rehabilitation 48 to 72 hours after surgery. All of the patients were aged 50 to 75. On average, patients who started rehabilitation earlier spent two days less in the hospital and had five fewer rehabilitation sessions before they were discharged than those in the control group. The patients in the early rehabilitation group also had less pain, a greater range of joint motion, improved muscle strength, and scored higher on gait and balance tests, study author Adelaida M. Castro Sanchez, from the ... Read more
Related support groups: Knee Joint Replacement
Knee Replacements Still Work 20 Years Later
Posted 17 Feb 2011 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Feb. 17 – Patients with artificial knees were still going strong after 20 years, even jogging or playing tennis, researchers report. According to the study, most people who had knee replacements between 1975 and 1989 in the state of Indiana and lived for another 20 years maintained an active lifestyle. All reported at least "moderate" activity. "The whole point of having a total joint replacement is to maintain a functional knee that allows patients to maintain a good deal of activity for a long time," said study author Dr. John B. Meding. "This shows it lasts 20 years or more after the [operation]." "If you get a good knee and treat it well, and are blessed to live long enough, even after 20 years you can maintain this level of activity," added Meding, an orthopedic surgeon at the Center for Hips and Knee Surgery at St. Frances Hospital Mooresville, in Mooresville, Ind. The ... Read more
Related support groups: Knee Joint Replacement
Motivation May Affect Timing on Return to Work With a New Knee
Posted 8 Jan 2011 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, Jan. 7 – Personal motivation plays a major role in how quickly a person returns to work after a total knee replacement, new research has found. A study that involved 162 people who had full- or part-time jobs or were self-employed found that the median time it took people to go back to their job after a total knee replacement was 8.9 weeks. "Although the physical demands of a patient's job certainly have some influence on their ability to return to work following a primary total knee replacement, the patient's characteristics, particularly motivation, play a more important role," study author Joseph F. Styron, of Case Western Reserve University, said in news release from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. People's motivation to return to work, he added, may be affected by a combination of factors, including the value they place on work and their commitment to their ... Read more
Related support groups: Knee Joint Replacement
Knee, Hip Replacements May Aid Weight Loss: Study
Posted 29 Jul 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, July 29 – Weight loss has been noted among patients who've had a knee or hip replacement, a new study says. The research focused on 196 patients, mean age 67 years, who had knee or hip replacement surgery (arthroplasty) at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City between 2005 and 2007. The researchers found that, after their surgery, nearly 20 percent of the patients had significant weight loss (5 percent or more of body weight) and decreased body mass index (BMI), which is a measurement that takes into account a person's height and weight. The mean weight of the patients decreased from 175.5 pounds to 172.2 pounds, they noted. Knee replacement patients were more likely than hip replacement patients to experience a significant decrease in BMI (21.5 percent and 16.9 percent, respectively). Patients with a BMI score greater than 30 before their surgery, and therefore ... Read more
Related support groups: Knee Joint Replacement, Hip Replacement
Anesthesia's Role in Hip, Knee Replacement Infections Studied
Posted 28 Jul 2010 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, July 28 – Patients are less likely to develop infections at the sites of total hip or knee replacements if they undergo epidural or spinal anesthesia instead of general anesthesia, a new study reports. And while the risk of infection is small, the potential for problems is significant. "However, these infections are extremely serious and difficult to treat because of the implanted hardware. Sometimes the entire joint needs to be removed," said Dr. Daniel Sessler, of the department of outcomes research at the Anesthesiology Institute at The Cleveland Clinic, who wrote a commentary accompanying the study published in the August issue of the journal Anesthesiology. In the study, lead author Dr. Chuen-Chau Chang and colleagues at Taipei Medical University examined a database of 3,081 patients in Taiwan who'd had total hip or knee replacement between 2002 and 2006. They found ... Read more
Related support groups: Knee Joint Replacement
Knee Surgeon's Expectations May Differ From Yours
Posted 13 Mar 2010 by Drugs.com
FRIDAY, March 12 – Doctors and patients often have different expectations for knee and hip replacement surgery, and steps should be taken to close that gap, a new study shows. Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) researchers compared the expectations of 42 patients and their doctors and found clinically meaningful disagreement in 68 percent of patients, with 53 percent of the patients' expectations exceeding those of the surgeons. "The take-home message for the surgeon is that inexpensive, educational interventions like a preoperative class can be used to better align the patient's and the surgeon's expectations prior to surgery," Dr. Alejandro Gonzalez Della Valle, associate attending orthopedic surgeon at HSS, said in a hospital news release. "This may ultimately result in higher perceived outcome." "If a patient has unrealistic expectations that are not properly trimmed preoperatively ... Read more
Related support groups: Knee Joint Replacement, Hip Replacement
Slim Risk of Death After Joint Replacement
Posted 7 Jan 2010 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Jan. 7 – Patients who undergo knee or hip replacement surgery have a slightly increased risk of death for only 26 days after the procedure, claims a study that challenges earlier findings. "Previous studies suggesting that increased mortality exists for as long as 60 or 90 days post hip or knee replacement surgery may be wrong. We believe the risk is tied to a much shorter duration," study author Stein Atle Lie, a professor in the surgical sciences department at the University of Bergen in Norway, said in a news release. The researchers analyzed data on 81,856 Australian and Norwegian patients who underwent total knee replacement and 106,254 patients who had total hip replacement. The risk of death for 26 days after surgery was 0.1 percent. After that, the increased risk of death was negligible. Male patients and those older than 70 had the highest risk of death within 26 ... Read more
Related support groups: Knee Joint Replacement, Hip Replacement