The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on revision total hip and knee arthroplasty at a large academic hospital network

Matthew G Robinson; Nattaly Greene; Akhil Katakam; Antonia Chen; Hany S Bedair; Tyler Humphrey; Christopher M Melnic

doi:10.1016/j.jor.2021.11.012

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on revision total hip and knee arthroplasty at a large academic hospital network

J Orthop. 2021 Nov-Dec:28:117-120. doi: 10.1016/j.jor.2021.11.012. Epub 2021 Nov 24.

Authors

Matthew G Robinson¹, Nattaly Greene¹, Akhil Katakam^{1

2}, Antonia Chen³, Hany S Bedair^{1

2}, Tyler Humphrey², Christopher M Melnic^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
² Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, Newton, MA, USA.
³ Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Abstract

We sought to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on canceled revision total joint arthroplasty (TJA) in a large academic hospital network. We performed a retrospective analysis of revision TKA and THA in a healthcare system containing 5 hospitals in a time period of 8 months prior to and 8 months after the cessation of elective surgery. We found a 30.1% decrease in revision TKA and a 6.80% decrease in revision THA. Revision TJA volume decreased in our healthcare system during COVID-19 compared to prior to the pandemic, which will likely have lasting financial and clinical ramifications for the healthcare system.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; Revision total hip replacement; Revision total knee replacement.