Perioperative complications in elective surgery in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with biologics

Abstract

We retrospectively investigated the influence of biological agents on delayed wound healing and the occurrence of postoperative surgical site infection (SSI) in patients after surgery for rheumatoid arthritis. The patients were divided into two groups—those with and without treatment with biological agents (276 and 278 joints, respectively)—and adverse events (delay in wound healing and SSI) were investigated. Wound healing was delayed in 11.4% of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) operations, 16.7% of total ankle arthroplasty operations, and 9.7% of foot surgeries in the treatment group, and in 5.5% of TKA operations, 12.5% of total elbow arthroplasty operations, and 5.7% of foot surgeries in the non-treatment group. The difference in the incidence of delayed wound healing between the two groups was not statistically significant. In the treatment group, postoperative superficial and deep infection developed in one and two joints, respectively. In the non-treatment group, superficial infection developed in one joint. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups. These findings suggest that the use of biological agents may not affect the incidence of postoperative adverse events related to wound healing and SSI.

Keywords::

• Biologics
• Elective surgery
• Perioperative complications
• Rheumatoid arthritis