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Meta-Analysis
. 2016 Feb 10:16:41.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-016-0215-4.

The effects of advanced age on primary total knee arthroplasty: a meta-analysis and systematic review

Ethan F Kuperman  1 , Marin Schweizer  2   3   4 , Parijat Joy  5 , Xiaomei Gu  6 , Michele M Fang  7
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

The effects of advanced age on primary total knee arthroplasty: a meta-analysis and systematic review

Ethan F Kuperman et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: Total knee arthroplasty is an effective treatment when nonsurgical treatments fail, but it is associated with risk of complications which may be increased in advanced age. The purpose of this study was to quantify age-related differences in perioperative morbidity and mortality after total knee arthroplasty through systematic review of existing literature.

Methods: PubMed, the Cochrane database of systematic reviews, Scopus, and clinicaltrials.gov, were queried for relevant studies that compared primary total knee arthroplasty outcomes of mortality, myocardial infarction (MI), deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE) and functional status, of geriatric patients (>75 years old) with a younger control group (<65 years old). Pertinent journals and reference lists were hand searched. Eligibility criteria included all articles except case reports, meta-analyses, and systematic reviews. Two authors independently extracted data from each paper. Article quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale.

Results: Twenty-two studies were included. Geriatric patients had higher rates of mortality, MI, DVT, and length of stay in older compared to younger patients, however the absolute magnitude of these increases were small. The increase in mortality may have reflected decreased life expectancy in the geriatric populations as opposed to mortality specifically due perioperative risk. There were no differences in PE incidence and improvement in pain and functional status was equal in older and younger patients. Existing studies were limited by non-randomized patient selection, as well as variation in definitions and methodology.

Conclusions: Existing data supports offering primary total knee arthroplasty to select geriatric patients, although the risk of complications may be increased. Much of the data was of poor quality. Future prospective studies are needed to better identify risks and benefits of total knee arthroplasty so that patients and surgeons can make informed decisions.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA 2009 flow diagram on selection of articles for effect of age on outcomes of TKA. *244 not in English, 3174 rejected by both initial reviewers for being irrelevant- did not address TKA as primary problem different surgical tech or med tx being compared, not knee, 274 Outcomes not addressed- eg not dvt/mortality/ssi/MI, 212 TKA bilateral or mixed with hip and knee, 1 qualitative study, 12 unavailable articles, review articles. ^49 studies did not separate hip and knee patients, 17 did not look at the outcome of interest, 4 were review articles, 60 did not study the effect of age, 8 did not have a control younger group, and 3 studies did not look at TKA
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Impact of age group on mortality after TKA
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Impact of age group on perioperative MI after TKA
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Impact of age group on perioperative DVT after TKA
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Impact of age group on perioperative PE after TKA
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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