Prevalence and Clinical Impact of Sarcopenia in Patients Undergoing Total Joint Arthroplasty: A Systematic Review and a Meta-Analysis

• Published in: The Journal of arthroplasty Vol. 39; no. 12; pp. 3128 - 3135.e3
• Main Authors: Sumbal, Ramish, Abbas, Mudassir, Sheikh, Samir Mustafa, Sumbal, Anusha
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-12-2024
• Subjects: prevalence; Sarcopenia; TJA; total hip arthroplasty; total joint arthroplasty; total knee arthroplasty; Sarcopenia; prevalence; total hip arthroplasty; total knee arthroplasty; TJA; total joint arthroplasty; Prevalence; Total Joint Arthroplasty
• ISSN: 0883-5403; 1532-8406; 1532-8406
• DOI: 10.1016/j.arth.2024.06.021

Sarcopenia is a progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and function. It is associated with adverse outcomes after several orthopaedic procedures. However, its role in total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is not fully explored. Therefore, we wanted to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to answer the following questions: (1) What is the prevalence of sarcopenia in patients undergoing TJA?; (2) What factors are associated with the prevalence of sarcopenia in patients undergoing TJA?; What is the impact of sarcopenia on medical outcomes following TJA?; and (4) What is the impact of sarcopenia on surgical outcomes following TJA?
Electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and Google Scholar were searched. The data were pooled using the random-effects model and graphically represented by a forest plot. We included a total of 13 studies, evaluating 399,097 patients.
The pooled prevalence of sarcopenia was 20.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 13.6 to 28.8%; P < .00001; I2 = 94.7%) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and 5.2% (95% CI 0.1 to 69.7%; P = .128; I2 = 99.6%) in total hip arthroplasty (THA). Meta-regression found no links between age, sex, body mass index, diabetes, obesity, arthroplasty type, and sarcopenia prevalence in TJA. Sarcopenia increased risk of blood transfusion (odds ratio [OR] 4.68 [95% CI 3.51 to 6.25]; P < .00001), pneumonia (OR 1.94 [95% CI 1.14 to 3.30]; P = .01), urinary tract infection (UTI) (OR 1.64 [95% CI 1.31 to 2.05]; P < .001), prosthetic fracture (OR 2.12 [95% CI 1.51 to 2.98]; P < .0001), prosthetic dislocation (OR 1.99 [95% CI 1.62 to 2.44]; P < .00001), and mechanical loosening (OR 1.78 [95% CI 1.43 to 2.22]; P < .00001) in TKA. Sarcopenic patients were at an increased risk of UTI (OR 1.79 [95% CI 1.32 to 2.43]; P = .0002) and prosthetic loosening (OR 1.97 [95% CI 1.10 to 3.53]; P = .02) post-THA.
Baseline sarcopenia was prevalent in patients undergoing TJA. It was associated with an increased risk of UTI and prosthetic loosening following TKA and THA. Increased risk of blood transfusion, pneumonia, prosthetic fractures, and mechanical loosening following TKA.