Patients with preexisting mental illnesses undergoing outpatient total joint replacements had an increased risk of adverse outcomes when compared to inpatient joint replacements, researchers from Charlottesville-based University of Virginia found.
The study compared the post-operative complications of patients with preexisting mental illness after outpatient total knee and total hip arthroplasty compared to inpatient total joint arthroplasty.
The study found that patients with anxiety, depression or severe mental illness had higher rates of emergency department visits and medical complications within 90 days of surgery. These patients were also at an increased risk of periprosthetic infection within 90 days.
The researchers used the Mariner Claims Database to study claims between 2010 and 2017.