PITTSBURGH, July 31 (UPI) -- The University of Pittsburgh found that hip and knee replacements are very infrequent among those over age 90, but this age group should be given surgery.
Lead researcher Dr. Eswar Krishnan, of the University of Pittsburgh, analyzed data from 1993-2002 from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample, the largest hospital discharge data set in the world.
Of the 57 million hospitalization records during this period, 41,335 were for centenarians. The researchers identified 679 total hip replacements and 7 total knee replacements in patients aged 100 or older.
"This relatively low frequency of elective surgery might be due to physician and patient judgment that these individuals are at high risk for poor outcomes and that the risk is not offset by the perceived benefit in light of the relatively short life expectancy," the study said.
Centenarians who underwent hip replacement were at a higher risk for in-hospital mortality than nonagenarians; however, hospitalization for hip replacement compared to other causes of hospitalization was associated with a lower risk of death, according to the study published in the August issue of Arthritis Care & Research.
The researchers conclude that the elderly should not be denied hip and knee replacement surgery solely because of short-term life expectancy.
