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Background: A patient who dies during the followup period of a study about total hip arthroplasty (THA) cannot subsequently undergo a revision. The presence of competing events (such as deaths, in a study on implant durability) violates an assumption of the commonly used Kaplan-Meier (KM) survivorship approach. In that setting, KM-based estimates of revision frequencies will be high relative to alternative approaches that account for competing events such as cumulative incidence methods. However, the degree to which this difference is clinically relevant, and the degree to which it affects different ages of patient cohorts, has been poorly characterized in orthopaedic clinical research.Questions/purposes: The purpose of this study was to compare KM with cumulative incidence survivorship estimators to evaluate the degree to which the competing event of death influences the reporting of implant survivorship at long-term followup after THA in patients both younger than and older than 50 years of age.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 758 cemented THAs from a prospectively maintained single-surgeon registry, who were followed for a minimum of 20 years or until death. Revision rates were compared between those younger than or older than age 50 years using both KM and cumulative incidence methods. Patient survivorship was calculated using KM methods. A total of 21% (23 of 109) of the cohort who were younger than 50 years at the time of THA died during the 20-year followup period compared with 72% (467 of 649) who were older than 50 years at the time of surgery (p < 0.001).Results: In the cumulative incidence analysis, 19% of the younger than age 50 years cohort underwent a revision for aseptic causes within 20 years as compared with 5% in the older than age 50 years cohort (p < 0.001). The KM method overestimated the risk of revision (23% versus 8.3%, p < 0.001), which represents a 21% and 66% relative increase for the younger than/older than age 50 years groups, respectively.Conclusions: The KM method overestimated the risk of revision compared with the cumulative incidence method, and the difference was particularly notable in the elderly cohort. Future long-term followup studies on elderly cohorts should report results using survivorship curves that take into account the competing risk of patient death. We observed a high attrition rate as a result of patient deaths, and this emphasizes a need for future studies to enroll younger patients to ensure adequate study numbers at final followup.Level Of Evidence: Level III, therapeutic study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Retrospective analyses have demonstrated correlation between patient-reported allergies and negative outcomes after total joint arthroplasty. We sought to validate these observations in a prospective cohort., Methods: One hundred forty-four patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty and 302 patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty were prospectively enrolled. Preoperatively, patients listed their allergies and completed the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form 36 (SF-36) and the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) Questionnaire. At a mean of 17 months (range 12-25 months) postoperatively, SF-36, CCI, and Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) were obtained by telephone survey. Regression analysis was used to determine the strength of correlation between patient age, comorbidity burden, and number of allergies and outcome measurements., Results: In 446 patients, 273 reported at least 1 allergy. The number of allergies reported ranged from 0 to 33. Penicillin or its derivative was the most frequently reported allergy followed by sulfa, environmental allergen, and narcotic pain medication. Patients reporting at least 1 allergy had a significantly lower postoperative SF-36 Physical Component Score compared to those reporting no allergies (51.3 vs 49.4, P = .01). The SF-36 postoperative Mental Component Score was no different between groups. Multivariate regression analysis showed that age and patient reported allergies, but not comorbidities, were independently associated with worse postoperative SF-36 Physical Component Summary (PCS) and WOMAC score. Patients with allergies experienced the same improvement in SF-36 PCS as those without an allergy. Comorbidities did not correlate with patient-reported function postoperatively., Conclusion: Patients who report allergies have lower postoperative outcome scores but may experience the same increment in improvement after total joint arthroplasty., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Equity in health care has become a focal point of debate. However, the disparity between insurance payer types in total joint arthroplasty is poorly defined. The authors identified 1312 consecutive patients who underwent elective primary total hip or knee arthroplasty with available preoperative Short Form 36 and Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index surveys and stratified them into groups based on insurance type (Iowa Care [a state-run insurance program for patients who are indigent], Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance) to compare demographics, access to care, and functional data. Significance was a P value less than .05 after a Turkey-Kramer adjustment for multiple comparisons. A multivariate analysis identified independent predictors of Short Form 36 and Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index preoperative functional status. Few differences existed between patients with Iowa Care and Medicaid, but both groups had significantly lower Short Form 36 and Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index scores across every category compared with patients with Medicare or private insurance (P<.05 for each comparison). In addition, patients with Iowa Care and Medicaid had a higher incidence of current smoking and higher mean body mass index and traveled an average of 29 to 30 miles farther for access to care (P<.05 for each comparison). Payer type was an independent predictor of preoperative Short Form 36 and Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index functional scores in the multivariate analysis (P<.02). Significant differences exist between payer types in total joint arthroplasty. Further research is necessary to better inform health policy decisions., (Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.)

Little is known about how patient characteristics differ between insurance types. We reviewed 293 consecutive primary total joint arthroplasty patients with 12-month follow-up and stratified them based on insurance type. As compared with patients with either Medicare or private insurance, Medicaid patients traveled an extra 160 to 170 miles for access to care, both Iowa Care and Medicaid were more than 3 times more likely to be current smokers, and both Iowa Care and Medicaid had lower preoperative and 12-month postoperative 36-Item Short Form Health Survey and WOMAC outcomes scores. Payer type was a significant predictor of 36-Item Short Form Health Survey physical function at final follow-up in a multivariate analysis. Significant disparities exist between patients with different insurance payer types in total joint arthroplasty, and further research into these differences is necessary., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare differences in demographic, functional, access to care, and comorbidity data between a Medicaid and Iowa Care (state Medicaid) insured patient cohort and Medicare and a Commercial Payer patient cohort undergoing lower extremity total joint arthroplasty (TJA)., Material & Methods: A retrospective review of 874 primary TKAs and THAs by a single surgeon at an academic institution between January, 2004 and June, 2008 was performed. Data on the primary insurance payer was used to stratify the cohort into two groups; Medicaid and Iowa Care (state Medicaid) insured and Medicare and commercial payer. Demographic, functional, access to care, and comorbidity data obtained from a standard preoperative survey were compared., Results: Of 874 primary TKAs and THAs, 18.3 % of patients were Medicaid and Iowa Care insured, while 81.7 % were insured by Medicare and commercial payer. Average age was 53.7 and 62.3 respectively, while average BMI was 35.2 and 32.9 respectively. The Medicaid and Iowa Care group was found to be 3 times more likely to smoke tobacco (25.2% v. 8.3%). Preoperative WOMAC Function scores were 33.9 and 46.8, respectively. Self reported diabetes was used as a general surrogate for health comorbidities and occurred in 12.3 % and 11.5%, respectively. Distance traveled was used as a general surrogate for access to care with averages of 92.5 miles and 62.8 miles, respectively., Conclusion: The Medicaid and Iowa Care (state Medicaid) group had significantly higher rates of smoking, were significantly younger, and had significantly lower WOMAC scores (p<0.05) preoperatively. BMI comparison showed a trend to greater obesity in the Medicaid and Iowa Care cohort (p=0.056). Diabetes rates were comparable between the two cohorts. Medicaid and Iowa Care patients traveled 29.7 miles farther, suggesting they had less access to local orthopaedic care. There are major differences in comorbidities and patient demographics between payer types.