New Delhi, July 10 || Diabetes may not only lead to joint pain that can severely damage your knee but also increase the risk of infections and blood clots after knee replacement surgery, according to a new study led by Indian researchers.
More than half of people with diabetes have coexisting arthropathy -- disease or condition affecting a joint -- and may need a hip or knee arthroplasty (joint replacement surgery) in the future.
The study led by researchers from the Vardhman Medical College & Safdarjung Hospital, New Delhi, showed that diabetes is a significant risk factor for joint infection following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) -- a popular and effective surgery for patients with advanced knee arthritis.
Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) or blood clots is another crucial postoperative complication after TKA, which may also cause pulmonary embolism -- a blood clot causing a blockage in pulmonary arteries in the lungs.
The condition can result in increased morbidity and mortality.
“The presence of diabetes significantly impacts post-TKA outcomes, leading to higher complication rates and negatively affecting physical function and quality of life,” said the researchers, including from Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals and Fortis C-Doc Hospital.
“Insulin-treated diabetics face 60 per cent higher perioperative adverse events. Poor sugar control around TKA surgery worsens outcomes,” they added, in the paper published in the Journal of Orthopaedics.