Abstract
Introduction
Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a devastating complication after total joint arthroplasty. Patients undergoing revision for PJI may experience considerable psychological distress and symptoms of depression, both of which are linked to poor post-operative outcomes. We therefore aim to identify the prevalence of depressive symptoms in patients prior to treatment for PJI.
Methods
All patients between September 2008 – October 2018 undergoing single or 2-stage revision for PJI with minimum 1-year follow-up were retrospectively reviewed at a single institution. The 2-stage (n=37) and single stage (n=39) patients that met inclusion criteria were matched based off age (+/−5), gender and BMI (+/−5) to patients undergoing aseptic revisions. Based on prior literature, patients were considered to have depressive symptoms if their VR-12 mental component score (MCS) was below 42. Using Student's t-tests, outcomes evaluated included pre-operative and 1-year post-operative VR-12 MCS and physical component scores (PCS).
Results
Compared to matched controls, there was a significant difference in pre-operative depressive symptoms in patients undergoing 2-stage revision (40.5% vs 10.8%, p = 0.003) but not 1 year post-operatively (21.6% vs 10.8%, p = 0.2). Among single stage patients, there was no difference pre-operatively (20.5% vs 12.8%, p = 0.36) or 1 year post-operatively (15.3% vs 15.3%, p=1.0). PCS were significantly lower in 2-stage patients pre-operatively (31.6 vs 36.0, p=0.05) but not post-operatively (40.0 vs 39.7, p=0.89). In single stage patients there was no difference in PCS both pre-operatively (34.8 vs 34.0, p=0.78) or post-operatively (38.6 vs 39.4, p=0.79).
Conclusion
In addition to lower pre-operative function, patients undergoing 2-stage revision for PJI have a four times higher prevalence of pre-operative depressive symptoms compared to patients undergoing aseptic revision. Orthopedic surgeon awareness and screening of 2-stage patients pre-operatively with referral for potential treatment of depression if needed may help improve early outcomes post-operatively.
