TUESDAY, Aug. 31, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Rates for readmission and some short-term complications associated with total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are higher among patients reporting preoperative marijuana use, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, held from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 in San Diego.
Nequesha Mohamed, M.D., from the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and colleagues used data (2010 to 2018) from an all-payer database to compare 90-day and one-year outcomes in TKA recipients who consumed preoperative marijuana versus those who did not.
The researchers found that for marijuana users compared with nonusers, opioid consumption did not differ at 90 days or at one year. Readmission rates were significantly higher for marijuana users at 90 days and at one year. Rates for certain complications, including cerebrovascular accident, deep vein thrombosis, hematoma, myocardial infarction, and urinary tract infection, were all significantly higher for marijuana users compared with nonusers at 90 days, but complication rates were similar at one year. Revision rates were similar between the groups at 90 days and at one year.
“Preoperative counsel of marijuana users by arthroplasty surgeons may help reduce the risk of these postoperative complications, and guide expectations on postprocedure outcomes,” the authors write. “Further evidence stratifying the levels of consumption correlated with negative outcomes are needed to elucidate the risks of preoperative marijuana consumption among this population.”
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