Variation in multimorbidity by sociodemographics and social drivers of health among patients seen at community-based health centers.

Purpose: Understanding variation in multimorbidity across sociodemographics and social drivers of health is critical to reducing health inequities. Methods: From the multi-state OCHIN network of community-based health centers (CBHCs), we identified a cross-sectional cohort of adult (> 25 years old) patients who had a visit between 2019-2021. We used generalized linear models to examine the relationship between the Multimorbidity Weighted Index (MWI) and sociodemographics and social drivers of health (Area Deprivation Index [ADI] and social risks [e.g., food insecurity]). Each model included an interaction term between the primary predictor and age to examine if certain groups had a higher MWI at younger ages. Results: Among 642,730 patients, 28.2% were Hispanic/Latino, 42.8% were male, and the median age was 48. The median MWI was 2.05 (IQR: 0.34, 4.87) and was higher for adults over the age of 40 and American Indians and Alaska Natives. The regression model revealed a higher MWI at younger ages for patients living in areas of higher deprivation. Additionally, patients with social risks had a higher MWI (3.16; IQR: 1.33, 6.65) than those without (2.13; IQR: 0.34, 4.89) and the interaction between age and social risk suggested a higher MWI at younger ages. Conclusions: Greater multimorbidity at younger ages and among those with social risks and living in areas of deprivation shows possible mechanisms for the premature aging and disability often seen in community-based health centers and highlights the need for comprehensive approaches to improving the health of vulnerable populations.

Care Delivery in Community Health Centers Before, During, and After the COVID-19 Pandemic (2019-2022).

INTRODUCTION: Health centers provide primary and behavioral health care to the nation's safety net population. Many health centers served on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought major changes to health center care delivery. OBJECTIVE: To elucidate primary care and behavioral health service delivery patterns in health centers before and during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE). METHODS: We compared annual and monthly patients from 2019 to 2022 for new and established patients by visit type (primary care, behavioral health) and encounter visits by modality (in-person, telehealth) across 218 health centers in 13 states. RESULTS: There were 1581,744 unique patients in the sample, most from health disparate populations. Review of primary care data over 4 years show that health centers served fewer pediatric patients over time, while retaining the capacity to provide to patients 65+. Monthly data on encounters highlights that the initial shift in March/April 2020 to telehealth was not sustained and that in-person visits rose steadily after November/December 2020 to return as the predominant care delivery mode. With regards to behavioral health, health centers continued to provide care to established patients throughout the PHE, while serving fewer new patients over time. In contrast to primary care, after initial uptake of telehealth in March/April 2020, telehealth encounters remained the predominant care delivery mode through 2022. CONCLUSION: Four years of data demonstrate how COVID-19 impacted delivery of primary care and behavioral health care for patients, highlighting gaps in pediatric care delivery and trends in telehealth over time.

Cancer burden in women with HIV on Medicaid: A nationwide analysis.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is the leading cause of death in people living with HIV. In the United States, nearly 1 in 4 people living with HIV are women, more than half of whom rely on Medicaid for healthcare coverage. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to evaluate the cancer burden of women living with HIV on Medicaid. DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional study of women 18-64 years of age enrolled in Medicaid during 2012, using data from Medicaid Analytic eXtract files. METHODS: Using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification diagnosis codes, we identified women living with HIV (n = 72,508) and women without HIV (n = 17,353,963), flagging the presence of 15 types of cancer and differentiating between AIDS-defining cancers and non-AIDS-defining cancers. We obtained adjusted prevalence ratios and 95% confidence intervals for each cancer and for all cancers combined, using multivariable log-binomial models, and additionally stratifying by age and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: The highest adjusted prevalence ratios were observed for Kaposi's sarcoma (81.79 (95% confidence interval: 57.11-117.22)) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (27.69 (21.67-35.39)). The adjusted prevalence ratios for anal and cervical cancer, both of which were human papillomavirus-associated cancers, were 19.31 (17.33-21.51) and 4.20 (3.90-4.52), respectively. Among women living with HIV, the adjusted prevalence ratio for all cancer types combined was about two-fold higher (1.99 (1.86-2.14)) in women 45-64 years of age than in women 18-44 years of age. For non-AIDS-defining cancers but not for AIDS-defining cancers, the adjusted prevalence ratios were higher in older than in younger women. There was no significant difference in the adjusted prevalence ratios for all cancer types combined in the race/ethnicity-stratified analyses of the women living with HIV cohort. However, in cancer type-specific sub-analyses, differences in adjusted prevalence ratios between Hispanic versus non-Hispanic women were observed. For example, the adjusted prevalence ratio for Hispanic women for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was 2.00 (1.30-3.07) and 0.73 (0.58-0.92), respectively, for breast cancer. CONCLUSION: Compared to their counterparts without HIV, women living with HIV on Medicaid have excess prevalence of cervical and anal cancers, both of which are human papillomavirus related, as well as Kaposi's sarcoma and lymphoma. Older age is also associated with increased burden of non-AIDS-defining cancers in women living with HIV. Our findings emphasize the need for not only cancer screening among women living with HIV but also for efforts to increase human papillomavirus vaccination among all eligible individuals.

Excess cancer prevalence in men with HIV: A nationwide analysis of Medicaid data.

BACKGROUND: Cancer is one of the most common comorbidities in men living with HIV (MLWH). However, little is known about the MLWH subgroups with the highest cancer burden to which cancer prevention efforts should be targeted. Because Medicaid is the most important source of insurance for MLWH, we evaluated the excess cancer prevalence in MLWH on Medicaid relative to their non-HIV counterparts. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study using 2012 Medicaid Analytic eXtract data nationwide, we flagged the presence of HIV, 13 types of cancer, symptomatic HIV, and viral coinfections using codes from the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification. The study population included individuals administratively noted to be of male sex (men), aged 18 to 64 years, with (n = 82,495) or without (n = 7,302,523) HIV. We developed log-binomial models with cancer as the outcome stratified by symptomatic status, age, and race/ethnicity. RESULTS: Cancer prevalence was higher in MLWH than in men without HIV (adjusted prevalence ratio [APR], 1.84; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.78-1.90) and was higher among those with symptomatic HIV (APR, 2.74; 95% CI, 2.52-2.97) than among those with asymptomatic HIV (APR, 1.73; 95% CI, 1.67-1.79). The highest APRs were observed for anal cancer in younger men, both in the symptomatic and asymptomatic groups: APR, 312.97; 95% CI, 210.27-465.84, and APR, 482.26; 95% CI, 390.67-595.32, respectively. In race/ethnicity strata, the highest APRs were among Hispanic men for anal cancer (APR, 198.53; 95% CI, 144.54-272.68) and for lymphoma (APR, 9.10; 95% CI, 7.80-10.63). CONCLUSIONS: Given the Medicaid program's role in insuring MLWH, the current findings highlight the importance of the program's efforts to promote healthy behaviors and vaccination against human papillomavirus in all children and adolescents and to provide individualized cancer screening for MLWH.

Greater Prevalence of Mental Health Conditions in Septic Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Call to Action.

The purpose of this study was to compare the prevalence of mental health conditions among patients undergoing (1) primary total knee arthroplasty (pTKA), (2) septic revision total knee arthroplasty (rTKA), and (3) aseptic revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The State Inpatient Databases were queried for all TKAs from 2005 to 2014 yielding 563,144 patients. Patients were separated into the following cohorts: primary, septic revision, and aseptic revision. Diagnoses of any mental health condition and the following specific conditions were compared between the three cohorts: schizophrenia/delusion, bipolar disorder, depression/mood disorder, personality disorder, anxiety/somatic/dissociative disorder, eating disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder/conduct/impulse control, alcohol abuse, and drug abuse. Throughout the study period, an increase in the prevalence of mental health conditions was observed in septic and aseptic revision patients. Overall, there was a significantly higher prevalence of mental health conditions in the septic revision cohort (22.7%) compared with the primary (17.8%, p < 0.001) and aseptic revision (20.0%, p < 0.001) cohorts. Specifically, septic revision TKA patients had a higher prevalence of depression (p < 0.001), alcohol abuse (p < 0.001), drug abuse (p < 0.001), schizophrenia (p = 0.0007), and bipolar disorder (p < 0.001), compared with primary TKA patients. Additionally, there was a significantly higher prevalence of depression (p < 0.001), alcohol abuse (p < 0.001), and drug abuse (p < 0.001) among septic revision patients compared with aseptic revision patients. Mental health conditions were significantly higher among septic revision patients. Alcohol and drug abuse were approximately twice as prevalent in septic revision patients compared with primary and aseptic revision patients. These findings should serve as a call to action for mental health support for patients suffering from PJI.

Markers of Quality Care for Newly Diagnosed People With Epilepsy on Medicaid.

BACKGROUND: For newly diagnosed people with epilepsy (PWE), proper treatment is important to improve outcomes, yet limited data exist on markers of quality care. OBJECTIVE: Examine markers of quality care for newly diagnosed PWE. METHODS: Using Medicaid claims data (2010-2014) for 15 states we identified adults 18-64 years of age diagnosed with incident epilepsy in 2012 or 2013. We built 5 sequential logistic regression models to evaluate: (1) seeing a neurologist; (2) diagnostic evaluation; (3) antiepileptic medication adherence; (4) serum drug levels checked; and (5) being in the top quartile of number of negative health events (NHEs). We adjusted for demographics, comorbidities, county-level factors, and the outcomes from all prior models. RESULTS: Of 25,663 PWE, 37.3% saw a neurologist, with decreased odds for those of older age, those residing in counties with low-density of neurologists, and certain race/ethnicities; about 57% of PWE received at least 1 diagnostic test; and nearly 62% of PWE were adherent to their medication. The most common comorbidities were hypertension (37.1%) and psychoses (26.9%). PWE with comorbidities had higher odds of seeing a neurologist and to have NHEs. Substance use disorders were negatively associated with medication adherence and positively associated with high NHEs. CONCLUSIONS: There are notable differences in demographics among people with incident epilepsy who do or do not see a neurologist. Differences in NHEs persist, even after controlling for neurologist care and diagnostic evaluation. Continued attention to these disparities and comorbidities is needed in the evaluation of newly diagnosed PWE.

The Role of Frailty in Failure to Rescue After Cardiovascular Surgery.

BACKGROUND: Failure to rescue (FTR) is gaining popularity as a quality metric. The relationship between patient frailty and FTR after cardiovascular surgery has not been fully explored. This study aimed to utilize a national database to examine the impact of patient frailty on FTR. METHODS: Of 5,199,534 patients undergoing cardiovascular surgery between 2000 and 2014, 75,851 (1.5%) were identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database as frail based on the Johns Hopkins Adjusted Clinical Groups frailty-defining diagnoses indicator. Propensity-score matching was used to adjust for patient- and hospital-level characteristics and comorbidities when comparing frail and nonfrail patients. RESULTS: Frail patients were on average older (68 ± 12 years vs 65 ± 12 years; P < .001) and had more comorbidities including heart failure, and chronic lung, liver, or renal disease. Among 68,472 matched pairs, frail patients had significantly higher rates of FTR (13.4% vs 11.9%; P < .001). This contributed to a $39,796 increase in cost per hospitalization (P < .001). Renal failure, respiratory failure, pneumonia, and sepsis were most commonly associated with FTR in frail patients. When hospitals were stratified by risk-adjusted mortality, low-mortality (1st quintile) centers had significantly lower FTR rates and costs among frail patients when compared to high-mortality (5th quintile) centers. CONCLUSIONS: Frailty contributes significantly to FTR after cardiovascular surgery. Frail patients can expect better outcomes with lower costs at cardiac surgical centers of excellence that can adequately manage postoperative outcomes. Preoperative assessment of frailty may better guide risk estimation and identification of patients who would benefit from appropriate prehabilitative interventions to optimize outcomes.

Delays and disparities in diagnosis for adults with epilepsy: Findings from U.S. Medicaid data.

OBJECTIVE: To identify disparities in care pathways and time from first seizure to epilepsy diagnosis, we examined 2010-2014 Medicaid claims (including pharmacy) data from 16 States for individuals with incident epilepsy. METHODS: We identified adults (18-64) with an incident epilepsy diagnosis from 1/2012 through 6/2014. These individuals were enrolled in Medicaid for the entire study period and had no history of anti-epileptic drug (AED) use before their first seizure claim. We identified care pathways and calculated the duration from initial seizure to epilepsy diagnosis. We tested associations between these pathways and race/ethnicity, as well as time differences between care pathways using a Chi-squared and Kruskal-Wallis tests. RESULTS: The 14,337 adults followed five different care pathways. Their overall median duration from first seizure code to epilepsy diagnosis code was 19.0 months (interquartile range: 4.6, 30.4), and 56.0% filled an AED prescription. Some minorities were more likely to follow pathways with increased durations and delay to diagnosis, and the duration to diagnosis varied significantly across the care pathways. SIGNIFICANCE: The many different care pathways seen in people with epilepsy show substantial and significant time delays between first seizure diagnosis and epilepsy diagnosis, including significant racial/ethnic disparities that warrant attention.

Implications of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Carriage on Cardiac Surgical Outcomes.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus remains the most common cause of sternal surgical site infections (SSIs). Opinions on the postoperative implications of preoperative methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) colonization currently differ. This study aimed to investigate whether MRSA carriage affects postoperative outcomes and safety of operation. METHODS: A total of 1,774,811 cardiac surgical patients from 2009 to 2014 were identified from the National Inpatient Sample database. Among these patients, 5798 (0.33%) were MRSA carriers. Propensity-score matching was used to determine the effect of MRSA colonization on outcomes. RESULTS: MRSA carriers did not differ in age or sex from noncarriers, but they more often presented for urgent surgery (P < .001). Among matched pairs, there was no difference in mortality (P = .76), stroke, SSIs, pneumonia, renal failure, cardiac complications, respiratory failure, or prolonged mechanical ventilation. MRSA infection (P < .001), MRSA septicemia (P = 0.03), and blood transfusion (P = .003) occurred more often among MRSA carriers. There was no increase in cost (P = .12), but the hospital length of stay was longer (P = .005). Predictors of MRSA infection among carriers included age older than 85 years, rural hospital location, and diabetes. Carriers with endocarditis and drug abuse were at highest risk for MRSA infection. CONCLUSIONS: MRSA carriers undergoing cardiac surgery are not at higher risk for mortality or SSIs and can expect outcomes similar to those of noncarriers. Higher rates of postoperative MRSA infection and septicemia among carriers, although still very low, support the need for selective preoperative screening and prophylaxis when possible.

Trends and Outcomes of Cardiovascular Surgery in Patients With Opioid Use Disorders.

Importance: Persistent opioid use is currently a major health care crisis. There is a lack of knowledge regarding its prevalence and effect among patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Objective: To characterize the national population of cardiac surgery patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) and compare outcomes with the cardiac surgery population without OUD. Design, Setting, and Participants: In this retrospective population-based cohort study, more than 5.7 million adult patients who underwent cardiac surgery (ie, coronary artery bypass graft, valve surgery, or aortic surgery) in the United States were included. Pregnant patients were excluded. Propensity matching was performed to compare outcomes between cardiac surgery patients with OUD (n = 11 359) and without OUD (n = 5 707 193). The Nationwide Inpatient Sample database was queried from January 1998 to December 2013. Data were analyzed in January 2018. Exposures: Persistent opioid use and/or dependence. Main Outcomes and Measures: In-hospital mortality, complications, length of stay, costs, and discharge disposition. Results: Among the 5 718 552 included patients, 3 887 097 (68.0%) were male; the mean (SD) age of patients with OUD was 47.67 (13.03) years and of patients without OUD was 65.53 (26.14) years. The prevalence of OUD among cardiac surgery patients was 0.2% (n = 11 359), with an 8-fold increase over 15 years (0.06% [262 of 437 641] in 1998 vs 0.54% [1425 of 263 930] in 2013; difference, 0.48%; 95% CI of difference, 0.45-0.51; P < .001). Compared with patients without OUD, patients with OUD were younger (mean [SD] age, 48 [0.30] years vs 66 [0.05] years; P < .001) and more often male (70.8% vs 68.0%; P < .001), black (13.7% vs 4.8%), or Hispanic (9.1% vs 4.8%). Patients with OUD more commonly fell in the first quartile of median income (30.7% vs 17.1%; P < .001) and were more likely to be uninsured or Medicaid beneficiaries (48.6% vs 7.7%; P < .001). Valve and aortic operations were more commonly performed among patients with OUD (49.8% vs 16.4%; P < .001). Among propensity-matched pairs, the mortality was similar between patients with vs without OUD (3.1% vs 4.0%; P = .12), but cardiac surgery patients with OUD had an overall higher incidence of major complications (67.6% vs 59.2%; P < .001). Specifically, the risks of blood transfusion (30.4% vs 25.9%; P = .002), pulmonary embolism (7.3% vs 3.8%; P < .001), mechanical ventilation (18.4% vs 15.7%; P = .02), and prolonged postoperative pain (2.0% vs 1.2%; P = .048) were significantly higher. Patients with OUD also had a significantly longer length of stay (median [SE], 11 [0.30] vs 10 [0.22] days; P < .001) and cost significantly more per patient (median [SE], $49 790 [1059] vs $45 216 [732]; P < .001). Conclusions and Relevance: The population of patients with persistent opioid use or opioid dependency undergoing cardiac surgery has increased over the past decade. Cardiac surgery in patients with OUD is safe but is associated with higher complications and cost. Patients should not be denied surgery because of OUD status but should be carefully monitored postoperatively for complications.

Psychiatric disease in surgically treated colorectal cancer patients.

BACKGROUND: Underlying psychiatric conditions may affect outcomes of surgical treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC) because of complex clinical presentation and treatment considerations. We hypothesized that patients with psychiatric illness (PSYCH) would have evidence of advanced disease at presentation, as manifested by higher rates of colorectal surgery performed in the presence of obstruction, perforation, and/or peritonitis (OPP-surgery). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Using data from the 2007-2011 National Inpatient Sample, we identified patients with a diagnosis of CRC undergoing colorectal surgery. In addition to somatic comorbid conditions flagged in the National Inpatient Sample, we used the Clinical Classification Software to identify patients with PSYCH, including schizophrenia, delirium/dementia, developmental disorders, alcohol/substance abuse, and other psychiatric conditions. Our study outcome was OPP-surgery. In addition to descriptive analysis, we conducted multivariable logistic regression analysis to analyze the independent association between each of the PSYCH conditions and OPP-surgery, after adjusting for patient demographics and somatic comorbidities. RESULTS: Our study population included 591,561 patients with CRC and undergoing colorectal cancer surgery, of whom 60.6% were aged 65 years or older, 49.4% were women, and 6.3% had five or more comorbid conditions. Then, 17.9% presented with PSYCH. The percent of patients undergoing OPP-surgery was 13.9% in the study population but was significantly higher for patients with schizophrenia (19.3%), delirium and dementia (18.5%), developmental disorders (19.7%), and alcohol/substance abuse (19.5%). In multivariable analysis, schizophrenia, delirium/dementia, and alcohol/substance abuse were each independently associated with increased rates of OPP-surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with PSYCH may have obstacles in receiving optimal care for CRC. Those with PSYCH diagnoses had significantly higher rates of OPP-surgery. Additional evaluation is required to further characterize the clinical implications of advanced disease presentation for patients with PSYCH diagnoses and colorectal cancer.

Etiology of Above-knee Amputations in the United States: Is Periprosthetic Joint Infection an Emerging Cause?

BACKGROUND: Above-knee amputation (AKA) is a morbid procedure and is performed for a number of conditions. Although AKA is usually performed for dysvascular disease, trauma, and malignancy, AKA is also considered in patients who have failed multiple salvage attempts at treating periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) of TKA. Although aggressive measures are being taken to treat PJI, the huge volume of TKAs might result in a large number of AKAs being performed for PJI in the United States. However, the national trends in the incidence of AKAs from different etiologies and the relative contribution of different etiologies to AKA are yet to be studied. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: (1) What are the temporal trends in the incidence of AKAs (from all causes) in the US population from 1998 to 2013? (2) What are the temporal trends in the incidence of AKAs by etiology (dysvascular disease, trauma, malignancy, and PJI)? (3) What are the temporal trends in the relative contribution of different etiologies to AKA? METHODS: Using the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from 1998 to 2013, AKAs were identified using International Classification of Diseases, 9 Revision (ICD-9) procedure code 84.17. The NIS database is the largest all-payer database in the United States containing information on approximately 20% of all the hospital admissions in the country. As a result of its sampling design, it allows for estimation of procedural volumes at the national level. All AKAs were grouped into one of the following five etiologies in a sequential manner using ICD-9 diagnosis codes: malignancy, PJI, trauma, dysvascular disease (peripheral vascular disease, diabetic, or a combination), and others. All of the numbers were converted to national estimates using sampling weights provided by the NIS, and the national incidence of AKAs resulting from various etiologies was calculated using the US population as the denominator. Poisson and linear regression analyses were used to analyze the annual trends. RESULTS: From 1998 to 2013, the incidence of AKAs decreased by 47% from 174 to 92 AKAs per 1 million adults (incidence rate ratio [IRR]; change in the number of AKAs per 1 million adults per year; 0.96; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.96-0.96; p < 0.001). The incidence of AKAs resulting from PJI increased by 263% (IRR, 1.07; 95% CI, 1.06-1.07; p < 0.001). An increase was also observed for AKAs from malignancy (IRR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.02; p = 0.007), although to a smaller extent. AKAs from dysvascular causes (IRR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.95-0.96; p < 0.001) and other etiologies (IRR, 0.97; 95% CI, 0.96-0.97; p < 0.001) decreased. There was no change in the incidence of AKAs related to trauma (IRR, 1.00; 95% CI, 0.99-1.00; p = 0.088). The proportion of AKAs resulting from PJI increased by 589% from 1998 to 2013 (coefficient = 0.18; 95% CI, 0.15-0.22; p < 0.001). The proportion of AKAs resulting from dysvascular causes decreased (coefficient = 0.18; 95% CI, 0.15-0.22; p < 0.001), whereas that resulting from malignancy (coefficient = 0.04; 95% CI, 0.03-0.05; p < 0.001) and trauma (coefficient = 0.13; 95% CI, 0.09-0.18; p < 0.001) increased. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of AKAs has decreased in the United States. AKAs related to dysvascular disease and other etiologies such as trauma and malignancy have either substantially decreased or remained fairly constant, whereas that resulting from PJI more than tripled. Given the increased resource utilization associated with limb loss, the results of this study suggest that national efforts to reduce disability should prioritize PJI. Further studies are required to evaluate the risk factors for AKA from PJI and to formulate better strategies to manage PJI. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, therapeutic study.

Hematologic Malignancies Are Associated with Adverse Perioperative Outcomes following Total Knee Arthroplasty.

The treatment of hematologic malignancies has advanced over the years, resulting in an improved survival of patients. As a result, these patients may be a part of the increasing population requiring total knee arthroplasty (TKA); however, they might be at a higher risk of adverse perioperative outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine the perioperative outcomes (complications, length of stay [LOS], and costs) of patients with hematologic malignancies following TKA. This study used the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) to identify patients who underwent TKA in the United States from 2000 to 2011. Patients diagnosed with any hematologic malignancy (N = 24,714) were then stratified by Hodgkin's disease (N = 791), Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (N = 7,096), plasma cell dyscrasias (N = 1,621), leukemia (N = 8,005), myeloproliferative disease (N = 5,746), and/or myelodysplastic syndromes (N = 1,608) for determining the complications that occurred during admission. Propensity matching was performed for demographics, hospital characteristics, and comorbidities, which yielded 24,491 patients with any hematologic malignancy and 24,458 control patients. Additionally, propensity matching was performed for the hematologic malignancy subtypes. Multivariable regression models were used to analyze the surgical and medical complications, LOS, and costs. The annual frequency of THA in patients with any hematologic malignancy increased from 2000 to 2011 (p < 0.0001). Hematologic malignancies were associated with an increased risk of any surgery-related complication (odds ratio [OR] = 1.31, p < 0.0001) and any general medical complication (OR = 1.38, p < 0.0001). Patients with any hematologic malignancy had increased odds of complications, including acute postoperative anemia (OR = 1.29, p < 0.0001), hematoma/seroma (OR = 1.65, p < 0.02), peripheral vascular disease (OR = 2.23, p = 0.046), deep venous thrombosis (DVT) (OR = 1.95, p = 0.02), and blood transfusion (OR = 1.61, p < 0.0001). Hematologic malignancies were associated with an increased incremental LOS (0.13 d, p < 0.0001) and an increased incremental cost ($788, p < 0.0001). Thus, we conclude that following TKA, patients with hematologic malignancies are at an increased risk of perioperative complications, longer LOS, and higher costs. The risk quantification for adverse perioperative outcomes in association with an increased cost may help design different risk stratification and reimbursement methods in such patients when undergoing TKA.

Does Multiple Sclerosis Affect the Inpatient Perioperative Outcomes After Total Hip Arthroplasty?

BACKGROUND: There is a paucity of studies evaluating the short-term perioperative outcomes of total hip arthroplasty (THA) in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. Therefore, this study evaluated (1) patient factors; and (2) patient outcomes in MS THA patients compared to non-MS THA patients. METHODS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample from 2002 to 2013 identified 5899 MS and 2,723,652 non-MS THA patients. Yearly trends, demographics, and comorbidities were compared, and then non-MS THA patients were matched (3:1) to MS THA patients by age, gender, race, comorbidity score, and surgery year. Regression analyses compared perioperative complications (any, surgical, medical), length of stay (LOS), and discharge dispositions. RESULTS: The annual prevalence of MS in THA patients increased from 1.36 per 1000 THAs in 2002 to 2.54 per 1000 THAs in 2013 (P = .004). MS patients were younger, more likely female, take corticosteroids, have hip osteonecrosis, and have gait abnormalities. Compared to matched cohort, MS patients had a higher risk of any surgical (odds ratio [OR] = 1.18; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.02-1.37) and any medical (OR = 1.55; 95% CI, 1.34-1.81) complications, an 8.24% longer mean LOS (95% CI, 5.61-10.94; <0.0001) and were more likely to be discharged to a care facility (OR = 2.09; 95% CI, 1.82-2.40). CONCLUSION: Orthopedic surgeons should be cognizant of the potential increased risks after THA in MS patients. Neurologists and other practitioners may help optimize and enhance the preoperative care of potential THA candidates, and provide guidance as to the appropriate timing of intervention for hip issues in MS patients.

Hematologic Malignancies Are Associated With Adverse Perioperative Outcomes After Total Hip Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Advancements in treating hematologic malignancies have improved survival, and these patients may be part of the growing population undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the perioperative outcomes of THA in patients with hematologic malignancies. METHODS: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample identified patients who underwent THA from 2000 to 2011 (n = 2,864,412). Patients diagnosed with any hematologic malignancy (n = 18,012) were further stratified into Hodgkin disease (n = 786), non-Hodgkin lymphoma (n = 5062), plasma cell dyscrasias (n = 2067), leukemia (n = 5644), myeloproliferative neoplasms (n = 3552), and myelodysplastic syndromes (n = 1082). Propensity matching for demographics, hospital characteristics, and comorbidities identified 17,810 patients with any hematologic malignancy and 17,888 controls; additional matching was performed to compare hematologic malignancy subtypes with controls. Multivariate regression was used to analyze surgical and medical complications, length of stay (LOS), and costs. RESULTS: Compared to controls, hematologic malignancies increased the risk of any surgery-related complication (odds ratio [OR], 1.4; P < .0001) and any general medical complication (OR, 1.47; P < .0001). Additionally, hematologic malignancies were associated with an increase in LOS (0.16 days; P = .004) and increased costs ($1,101; P < .0001). CONCLUSION: Patients with hematologic malignancies undergoing THA have an increased risk of perioperative complications, longer LOS, and higher costs. The risk quantification for adverse perioperative outcomes in association with increased cost may help to design different risk stratification and reimbursement methods in such populations.

Obesity Epidemic: Is Its Impact on Total Joint Arthroplasty Underestimated? An Analysis of National Trends.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is a well-established risk factor for total joint arthroplasty (TJA) and a number of complications including prosthetic joint infection. The annual changes in the prevalence of obesity among primary, revision, and infected TJA has not been studied at a national level. Given the higher costs of complications of TJA, it is important to understand the association of obesity with the annual trends of revision and infected TJA. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: (1) Is the prevalence of obesity increasing among patients undergoing THA/TKA? (2) Is the prevalence of obesity increasing among patients undergoing revision THA/TKA? (3) Is the prevalence of obesity increasing among patients with infected THA/TKA? METHODS: Annual volumes of primary, revision, and infected THA and TKA from 1998 to 2011 were obtained from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Using mathematical equations, the prevalence of obesity was estimated from relative risks and national obesity prevalence. National obesity prevalence was obtained from public health sources and the relative risk estimates were obtained from previously published meta-analyses and population-based studies. Annual prevalence of obesity was obtained by dividing the number of obese primary/revision/infected procedures in each year by the total number of corresponding procedures in that year. Annual changes in the prevalence of obesity were analyzed using linear regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of obesity is increasing among patients undergoing THA (1998: 60,264 of 154,337 [39%], 2011: 160,241 of 305,755 [52%], increase of 1.05%/year [confidence interval {CI}, 0.95%-1.15%], p < 0.001) and TKA (1998: 143,681 of 251,309 [57%], 2011: 448,712 of 644,243 [70%], increase of 0.97%/year [CI, 0.87%-1.07%], p < 0.001). There was an increasing prevalence of obesity with THA revisions (1998: 16,322 of 34,139 [48%], 2011: 33,304 of 54,453 [61%], increase of 1.04%/year [CI, 0.94%-1.15%], p < 0.001) and in TKA revisions (1998: 16,837 of 26,539 [63%], 2011: 52,151 of 69,632 [75%], increase of 0.89%/year [CI, 0.79%-0.99%], p < 0.001). There was an increasing prevalence of obesity with THA infections (1998: 2068 of 3018 [69%], 2011: 6856 of 8687 [79%], increase of 0.80%/year [CI, 0.71%-0.89%], p < 0.001) and in TKA infections (1998: 3563 of 4684 [76%], 2011: 14,178 of 16,774 [85%], increase of 0.65%/year [CI, 0.57%-0.73%], p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of obesity has increased in patients undergoing primary, revision, and infected TJA in United States. The obesity epidemic appears to be related to the growing trends of revision and infection after TJA. With the obesity rates expected to grow further, the revision and infection burden associated with obesity may increase in the future. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II, prognostic study.

Racial Disparities in Above-knee Amputations After TKA: A National Database Study.

BACKGROUND: Above-knee amputation (AKA) is a rare but devastating complication of TKA. Although racial disparities have been previously reported in the utilization of TKA, it is unclear whether disparities exist in the rates of AKA after TKA. QUESTIONS/PURPOSES: (1) Which gender-racial group has the highest rate of AKA from septic and aseptic complications of TKA? (2) Which age groups have higher rates of AKA from septic and aseptic complications of TKA? METHODS: Using National Inpatient Sample data from 2000 to 2011, AKAs resulting from complications of TKA were identified using a combination of International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision procedure and diagnosis codes. Of the 341,954 AKAs identified, 9733 AKAs were the result of complications of TKA (septic complications = 8104, aseptic complications = 1629). Standardized AKA rates were calculated for different age and gender- racial groups by dividing the number of AKAs in each group with the corresponding number of TKAs. Standardized rate ratios were calculated after adjusting for demographics and comorbidities. RESULTS: After adjusting for age and comorbidities, black men had the highest rate of AKA after TKA (adjusted rate in black men = 578 AKAs per 100,000 TKAs, standardized rate ratio [SRR] = 4.32 [confidence interval {CI}, 3.87-4.82], p < 0.001). Black men also had the highest rate of AKA after septic complications of TKA (p < 0.001). The adjusted rates of AKA were higher in patients younger than 50 years (adjusted rate = 473, SRR = 3.14 [CI, 2.94-3.36], p < 0.001) and older than 80 years (adjusted rate = 297, SRR = 1.85 [CI, 1.76-1.95], p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The rising demand for TKA has led to an increase in the number of AKAs performed for complications of TKA in the United States. Although we did not find an increase in the rate of AKA during the study period, certain populations, including black men and patients older than 80 years and younger than 50 years, had higher rates of AKA. Further studies are required to understand the reasons for these disparities and measures should be undertaken to eliminate these disparities. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, therapeutic study.

The HARM score for gastrointestinal surgery: Application and validation of a novel, reliable and simple tool to measure surgical quality and outcomes.

BACKGROUND: The HospitAl length of stay, Readmissions and Mortality (HARM) score is a simple, inexpensive quality tool, linked directly to patient outcomes. We assess the HARM score for measuring surgical quality across multiple surgical populations. METHODS: Upper gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary, and colorectal surgery cases between 2005 and 2009 were identified from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project California State Inpatient Database. Composite and individual HARM scores were calculated from length of stay, 30-day readmission and mortality, correlated to complication rates for each hospital and stratified by operative type. RESULTS: 71,419 admissions were analyzed. Higher HARM scores correlated with higher complication rates for all cases after risk adjustment and stratification by operation type, elective or emergent status. CONCLUSIONS: The HARM score is a simple and valid quality measurement for upper gastrointestinal, hepatobiliary and colorectal surgery. The HARM score could facilitate benchmarking to improve patient outcomes and resource utilization, and may facilitate outcome improvement.

The Impact of Solid Organ Transplant History on Inpatient Complications, Mortality, Length of Stay, and Cost for Primary Total Hip Arthroplasty Admissions in the United States.

BACKGROUND: As the prevalence of and life expectancy after solid organ transplantation increases, some of these patients will require total hip arthroplasty (THA). Immunosuppressive therapy, metabolic disorders, and post-transplant medications may place transplant patients at higher risk of adverse events following surgery. The objective of this study was to compare inpatient complications, mortality, length of stay (LOS), and costs for THA patients with and without solid organ transplant history. METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted using 1998-2011 Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Primary THA patients were queried (n = 3,175,456). After exclusions, remaining patients were assigned to transplant (n = 7558) or non-transplant groups (n = 2,772,943). After propensity score matching, adjusted for patient and hospital characteristics, logistic regression and paired t-tests examined the effect of transplant history on outcomes. RESULTS: Between 1998 and 2011, THA volume among transplant patients grew approximately 48%. The overall prevalence of one or more complications following THA was greater in the transplant group than in the non-transplant group (32.0% vs 22.1%; P < .001). In-hospital mortality was minimal, with comparable rates (0.1%) in both groups (P = .93). Unadjusted trends show that transplant patients have greater annual and overall mean LOS (4.47 days) and mean admission costs ($18,402) than non-transplant patients (3.73 days; $16,899; P < .001). After propensity score matching, transplant history was associated with increased complication risk (odds ratio, 1.56) after THA, longer hospital LOS (+0.64 days; P < .001), and increased admission costs (+$887; P = .005). CONCLUSION: Transplant patients exhibited increased odds of inpatient complications, longer LOS, and greater admission costs after THA compared with non-transplant patients.