Are Cardiac Complications Associated With Other Adverse Events? A Look at 56,000 Orthopaedic Trauma Patients

The purpose of this study was to identify those complications for which patients with adverse cardiac events are at risk within the 30-day postoperative period following treatment oforthopaedic trauma cases. This was a retrospective cohort study of orthopaedic trauma patients in the United States between 2006 and 2013. A total of 56,336 patients meeting any one of 89 CPT codes in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program database were used. The main outcome measure was myocardial infarction or cardiac arrest within the 30-day postoperative period.
Patients experiencing adverse cardiac events were at a significantly higher risk to have also developed deep surgical site infection, pneumonia, the need for reintubation, pulmonary emboli, a failure to wean off of ventilation, chronic and acute renal failure, urinary tract infection, stroke, deep venous thrombosis, sepsis, and shock. Cardiac complications in orthopaedic trauma patients are relatively uncommon (1.3%); however, cardiac complications are associated with greater risks of other complications, including pneumonia, stroke, and urinary tract infection. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 27(3):198–202, 2018)
Key words: adverse events, cardiac, complications, orthopaedic surgery, risk factors, trauma