Cardiovascular disease predicts complications following bilateral total knee arthroplasty under a single anesthetic

This study evaluated the rate of perioperative complications of single anesthetic bilateral total knee arthroplasties (TKA) compared with staged procedures.

The records of all single anesthetic bilateral TKA performed between 1997 and 2007 at one large community hospital and one university hospital were retrospectively reviewed. Complete demographic data, preoperative co-morbidities and complications for 156 patients were compared to a matched staged bilateral TKA (n = 78) cohort.

In the single anesthetic bilateral TKA cohort, cardiovascular disease predicted postoperative myocardial (p < 0.01, Odds Ratio — 67.6), need for ICU admission (p < 0.01, Odds Ratio — 88.8), and days spent in ICU (p < 0.01), while cardiovascular disease did not significantly predict postoperative MI in the staged bilateral (p = 0.99, OR — 0).

Patients with cardiovascular disease are at higher risk for perioperative MI after single anesthetic bilateral TKA.