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

Introduction: This study evaluated the rate of perioperative complications of single anesthetic bilateral total knee arthroplasties (TKA) compared with staged procedures. Methods: 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. Results: 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). Conclusion: Patients with cardiovascular disease are at higher risk for perioperative MI after single anesthetic bilateral TKA. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.