Objective: There are no gold standard markers to estimate the risk of developing periprosthetic infections in diabetes mellitus. Our aim is to compare the risks of periprosthetic infection in patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty with diabetes mellitus and to investigate the predictive significance of the HbA1c/ albumin ratio.
Patients and methods: Between January 2012 and January 2020, 690 patients who underwent total joint arthroplasty were analysed. 264 diabetic patients were included in the study. 104 of them had periprosthetic infection. 8 risk factors (Hba1c/albumin, HbA1c, albumin, age, BMI, ASA, hospital stay, operation time) were analysed.
Results: The rate of HbA1c/albumin was 14.6 times higher than the patients with ≤2.37 cut-off value. (Hba1c/albumin ratio (odds ratio (OR) = 14.6, 95% CI: 3.18-67.1, p: 0.01). HbA1c (OR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.529-4.754, p: 0.001), BMI (OR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.168-2.199, p<0.003), DM (OR = 0.365, 95% CI: 0.135-0.987, p: 0.04) and glucose (OR = 1.016, 95% CI: 1.004-1.029, p: 0.011) were risk factures for periprosthetic infection. Albumin (OR = 0.503, 95% CI: 0.109-2.314, p: 0.378) did not pose a significant risk for periprosthetic infection.
Conclusions: According to our findings, the HbA1c/albumin ratio has a more prognostic capacity than other risks in determining the risk of periprosthetic infection for total joint arthroplasty. HbA1c/albumin ratio is a cheap and easy-to-apply marker. Patients with an HbA1c/albumin cut-off ratio above 2.37 mg/dl in total joint arthroplasty should be followed more closely for the risk of periprosthetic infection.