Blood Sugar Number May Predict Risk of Infection following Hip Arthroplasty
For Immediate Release
Dallas, November 13, 2016 — At the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons, James A. Browne, MD presented a study where he and co-authors, Jourdan M. Cancienne, MD and Brian C. Werner, MD set out to determine if HbA1c levels, a measure of blood sugar control in patients with diabetes, could predict deep infection in patients hips following replacement surgery.
They studied 7,736 patients with diabetes who had HbA1c levels tested within three months of their surgery and who had experienced infections requiring surgery within one year of their surgery. After looking at rate of infection and pre-surgical HbA1c levels, the authors concluded that the risk of infection increases. The study further suggests that a pre-surgical HbA1c level above 7.5 mg/dL “could serve as a threshold for significantly increased risk of deep postoperative infection.” These findings suggest that optimizing diabetic control is important in decreasing the infection risk of hip replacement surgery.
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About the American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons:
Established in 1991, the mission of AAHKS is to advance hip and knee patient care through education and advocacy. AAHKS has a membership of over 3,700 surgeons and other hip and knee health care professionals.
Contact:
Denise Smith Rodd
drodd@operationwalkglobal.org