Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection and Hip and Knee Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Modern management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has afforded patients longevity while increasing the burden of arthroplasty procedures because of the increased risk of osteonecrosis, fragility fractures, and degenerative joint disease. Early publications on hip and knee arthroplasty in HIV-positive patients reported a high risk of complications, although some more recent publications demonstrated acceptable outcomes. Despite the widespread nature of the HIV pandemic, there is a paucity of literature addressing outcomes following joint arthroplasty in infected patients. We pooled available studies to obtain the best evidence regarding the safety of total hip and knee arthroplasty procedures in HIV-positive patients. The studies identified were heterogeneous, precluding a meta-analysis. However, we performed a review of the literature focusing on complications and outcomes.

METHODS: Twenty-one published English-language articles involving 6,516,186 joints were identified by a systematic review as suitable for inclusion in the study. The articles were analyzed for complication and prosthesis survivorship rates and relative risks.

RESULTS: An overall complication rate of 3.3% was found across the 19 articles that provided such data. HIV-positive patients had a significantly elevated risk of periprosthetic joint infection, at 7.6%, compared with HIV-negative patients, at 3.3% (relative risk = 2.28, 95% confidence interval = 2.14 to 2.43). Eleven articles were suitable for analysis of prosthesis survivorship, and survivorship rates did not differ significantly between HIV-positive and negative patients.

CONCLUSIONS: Total hip and total knee arthroplasty appear to be safe procedures with acceptable outcomes in HIV-positive patients.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.