Postoperative Care and Outcomes in Solid Organ Transplant Patients undergoing Lower Extremity Fracture Treatment

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Determine the postoperative outcomes in solid-organ transplant (SOT) patients undergoing operative treatment of lower extremity fractures. METHODS: Design: Retrospective comparative study Setting: Academic Level 1 Trauma center Patient Selection Criteria: Patients who underwent SOT and operative treatment for lower extremity fracture from 2013-2021 were identified, excluding pathologic fractures. Outcome Measures and Comparisons: postoperative complications, length of stay, time to death, 90-day and 1-year readmission rates, readmission causes, discharge location, and immunosuppressive regiments. RESULTS: 61 patients with an average age of 67 (range 29-88) were included. The mortality rate was 37.7%. The average follow-up was 15.2 months (range of 2 weeks to 10 years). The majority of patients (42.6%) had received a liver transplant, and femoral neck fractures constituted the largest fracture group (39.4%). The average length of stay was 10 days, with the shortest being one day and the longest being 126 days (SD 18). The majority of patients were not discharged home (56.6%). Only two suffered from a postoperative complication requiring another procedure: hardware removal and liner exchange for periprosthetic joint infection, respectively. There was a 27.9% 90-day readmission rate with two deaths within that period with the most common being altered mental status (29.4%), genitourinary infections (17.6%), repeat falls (11.8%), and low hemoglobin requiring transfusion (11.8%). The longest average time to death analyzed by transplant type was found among lung transplant patients (1076 days, 62.5% mortality), followed by liver transplant patients (949 days 35.0% mortality), then kidney transplant patients (834 days, 38.9% mortality). The shortest time to death was 71 days from index procedure. CONCLUSIONS: Family members of solid-organ transplant patients undergoing operative treatment of lower extremity fractures should be made aware of the high risk for 90-day readmission postoperatively (27.9%) and overall mortality (12.5%). Providers should be aware of the need for multidisciplinary involvement for inpatient care, monitoring postoperative complications and facilitating discharge planning. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.