BACKGROUND: Surgical patients receiving psychopharmacologic treatment have been associated with adverse outcomes in total hip and knee arthroplasty (THA and TKA). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a specific high-risk group of patients receiving psychopharmacologic treatment could be identified based upon a nationwide psychiatric diagnosis register.

METHODS: From 7 different orthopedic centers, 8288 THA and TKA patients were included from January 2010 to November 2012 of which 943 (11.4%) received psychopharmacologic treatment. Patients receiving preoperative psychopharmacologic treatment were divided into 2 groups based on the presence or absence of a psychiatric diagnosis in a nationwide administrative database and analyzed with respect to length of hospital stay (LOS >4 days) and 30- and 90-day readmissions using multivariable logistic regression models.

RESULTS: A total of 191 patients receiving psychopharmacologic treatment were registered with a psychiatric diagnosis while 752 patients received psychopharmacologic treatment without a registered psychiatric diagnosis. No significantly increased risk was found in patients with a preoperative registered psychiatric diagnosis compared to patients without, with regard to LOS >4 days (odds ratio [OR], 1.19; P = .51), 30-day readmission (OR, 0.56; P = .086), or 90-day readmission (OR, 0.81; P = .446), respectively. However, both groups had an increased risk of LOS >4 days and readmissions compared to a control population without psychopharmacologic treatment or any registered psychiatric diagnoses.

CONCLUSION: No further risk was found for psychopharmacologically treated THA/TKA patients with an additional hospital-related psychiatric diagnosis compared to patients without, suggesting that the psychopharmacologic treatment per se is an outcome risk factor independent of severity of the psychiatric disorder.