Abstract
Background: Although the postoperative results of total hip arthroplasty (THA) are generally successful, the standard technique and implant design have many proposed modifications. The purpose of the current study was to determine if using short-stem femoral implants minimized the intraoperative blood loss during THA when compared with conventional THA.
Methods: The medical records of patients who underwent THA using short-stem and conventional femoral implants between 2009 and 2013 were reviewed. Patients with previous surgical procedures for treating the acetabulum or proximal femur and patients without reported hematocrit levels were excluded; subsequently, a total of 53 patients for each group (short-stem or conventional implants) were included. Demographic and outcome variables were collected and analyzed for statistical significance using the Fisher exact test.
Results: No significant difference was noted in the patient mass index, preoperative hematocrit level, postoperative decrease in hematocrit level, and mean operating time between the groups. On unadjusted analysis, age, sex, transfusion rates, and blood loss were significant between the groups (P < 0.001, P = < 0.001, P = 0.04, and P = 0.01, respectively). On adjusted analysis for age and sex, no significant difference in transfusion rate was noted (P = 0.12 and P = 0.01, respectively).
Conclusions: The use of short-stem implants may not be significantly related to a reduced blood loss compared with conventional implants. However, further studies are needed to analyze the clinical significance between blood loss and implant use.
Recommended Citation
Kuehn, Sean; Drew K. Newhoff; Dukens LaBaze; Aditi S. Majumdar; and Rick J. Gehlert. "Comparison of Blood Loss Between Short-Stem and Conventional Femoral Implants in Total Hip Arthroplasty." UNM Orthopaedic Research Journal 5, 1 (2016). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/unm_jor/vol5/iss1/23
