General Versus Neuraxial Anesthesia in Revision Surgery for Periprosthetic Joint Infection.

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to compare neuraxial and general anesthesia in revision surgery for periprosthetic joint infection (PJI).

METHODS

Patients undergoing revision arthroplasty for PJI were identified in the 2005-2019 American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program databases. Thirty-day outcomes were compared between general and neuraxial anesthesia. Propensity-score matching and multivariate analysis were used to control patient and procedural variables.

RESULTS

Neuraxial anesthesia was used in 1511 (16.8%) cases and general anesthesia in 7468 (83.2%) cases. Neuraxial anesthesia had a lower risk of any adverse event (odds ratio [OR] 0.70, P < .001), serious adverse events (OR 0.77, P < .001), and minor adverse events (OR 0.66, P < .001). Among 875 reoperations and 1351 readmissions, two had a diagnosis of intraspinal abscess, both occurring after general anesthesia.

CONCLUSIONS

Neuraxial anesthesia was associated with a lower risk of adverse events when compared to general anesthesia in revision surgery for PJI.