Perioperative Complication Rates in Pediatric Total Joint Arthroplasty Patients Compared With Adults: Results of a Matched Cohort Study

Background: One of the least studied areas in orthopaedics is total joint arthroplasty (TJA) in pediatric patients. Recent studies have confirmed that these procedures are being performed on pediatric patients, making it critical to understand the rates of surgical complications in this patient population. We sought to examine the frequency in which surgical complications occur in pediatric patients, aged 20 and younger, undergoing TJA compared with adults. Methods: Data from the 2003 to 2012 Kids' Inpatient Database (ages 20 and younger) and 2002 to 2013 National Inpatient Sample (ages 21 and over) were analyzed. Pediatric patients were matched to 3 adult controls (1 per age group: 21 to 50, 51 to 65, and over 65 y) using patient characteristics including sex, race, orthopaedic diagnosis, and preoperative loss of function. Comparisons were then made between the rates and relative risks (RRs) of surgical complications between pediatric and adult patients. Finally, we examined patient factors associated with surgical complications, utilizing modified Poisson regression models with robust SEs. Results: Three adult controls (ie, 1 control from each age group) were identified for 1385 pediatric patients, for a total sample of 5540 TJA patients. Approximately 10% of pediatric patients experienced either major or minor surgical complications. The overall rate of major complications in pediatric patients was 5.05%, compared with 4.79% in adult controls [RR: 1.06 (0.81 to 1.38), P=0.69]. The overall rate of minor complications in pediatric patients was 5.78%, compared with 5.68% in adult controls [RR: 1.02 (0.80 to 1.30), P=0.78]. When adjusted for patient demographics, the RR of major complications was 49% higher in pediatric patients compared with ages 21 to 50 [RR: 1.49 (1.03 to 2.16), P=0.03] with no statistically significant differences noted for other age groups. For minor complications, the adjusted RR in pediatric patients, compared with any other age group, did not approach statistical significance. Conclusions: Pediatric patients undergoing TJA experience major and minor surgical complications at rates comparable with their adult counterparts. Our findings offer important insight on the rates of surgical complications in pediatric TJA patients, which is valuable for preoperative education and consultation with patients and families.