The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American). 2007;89:1452-1453.
doi:10.2106/JBJS.F.01328
© 2007 The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Letters to the Editor: Submit a response
Right arrow Letters to the Editor: View responses
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when Letters to the Editor are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Duncan, S. F.M.
Right arrow Articles by Morrey, B. F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Duncan, S. F.M.
Right arrow Articles by Morrey, B. F.
Related Collections
Right arrow Elbow
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

Prevalence of Pulmonary Embolism After Total Elbow Arthroplasty

Scott F.M. Duncan, MD, MPH1, John W. Sperling, MD, MS2 and Bernard F. Morrey, MD2

1 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, 5777 East Mayo Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ 85054. E-mail address: duncan.scott{at}mayo.edu
2 Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street S.W., Rochester, MN 55905

Investigation performed at the Departments of Orthopedic Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota

Disclosure: The authors did not receive any outside funding or grants in support of their research for or preparation of this work. Neither they nor a member of their immediate families received payments or other benefits or a commitment or agreement to provide such benefits from a commercial entity. A commercial entity (Zimmer) paid or directed in any one year, or agreed to pay or direct, benefits in excess of $10,000 to a research fund, foundation, division, center, clinical practice, or other charitable or nonprofit organization with which one or more of the authors, or a member of his or her immediate family, is affiliated or associated.

Background: Although numerous articles have addressed the risk of pulmonary embolism following total knee and total hip arthroplasty, we were unable to find comparable information for the risk following elbow arthroplasty. We therefore sought to determine the prevalence of pulmonary embolism after total elbow arthroplasty.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of the medical records of consecutive patients who had undergone primary elbow arthroplasty (816 procedures) or revision total elbow arthroplasty (260 procedures) at our tertiary-care academic medical institution between June 1981 and June 2001. Our purpose was to identify all patients in whom a pulmonary embolism developed after the surgery.

Results: Three patients had a pulmonary embolism and one died as a result of the complication during the twenty-year study period. Because of a low index of suspicion, the presenting symptoms of the pulmonary embolus were originally attributed to other causes of respiratory distress in two of the three patients.

Conclusions: These findings suggest that pulmonary embolism after total elbow arthroplasty is a rare but potentially fatal complication. Surgeons should consider this diagnosis when a patient exhibits respiratory distress after total elbow arthroplasty.

Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


Letters to the Editor:

Read all Letters to the Editor

Prevalence of Pulmonary Embolism After Total Elbow Arthroplasty
Praveen K Mereddy, et al.
JBJS Online, 20 Aug 2007 [Full text]
Dr. Duncan et al. respond to Dr. Mereddy et al.
Scott F.M. Duncan, M.D., et al.
JBJS Online, 11 Oct 2007 [Full text]