Hidradenitis Suppurativa Is a Risk Factor for Infection Following Procedures

According to a study published in Arthroplasty Today, hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) skin lesions are a risk factor for infection following procedures such as total hip arthroplasty (THA) or total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Researchers identified adult patients undergoing THA or TKA for degenerative etiologies from PearlDiver datasets to match with patients without HS based on age, sex, and Elixhauser Comorbidity Index. Within the 90-day period, severe, minor, and specific adverse events were collected and underwent multivariate analyses. Revision rates over a 5-year period were plotted on Kaplan-Meier survival curves and compared with log-rank tests.

For THA, 331,627 patients were identified of which 481 patients had HS (0.15%), whereas 274,161 patients were identified for TKA of which 290 patients had HS (0.11%). Results showed that HS patients had increased odds of wound dehiscence following THA and increased odds of surgical site infection following TKA. Researchers noted that all other 90-day adverse events and 5-year implant survival in either procedure were not significantly different.

“HS is a rare but identified comorbidity for those undergoing THA or TKA,” the authors stated, “Although most 90-day adverse events and 5-year implant survival were similar to those without this condition, specific wound-related issues were elevated by roughly twofold. These findings could help inform patients and surgeons,” they concluded.

Reference
Gouzoulis MJ, Kammien AJ, Caruana DL, Wiznia DH, Grauer JN. Hidradenitis suppurativa leads to increased risk of wound-related complications following total joint arthroplasty. Arthroplast Today. Published online June 24, 2022. doi:10.1016/j.artd.2022.05.013