Effect of serologic malnutrition on postoperative wound infection problems after total joint arthroplasty: A meta-analysis

We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the effect of serologic malnutrition on postoperative wound infection problems after total joint arthroplasty. A systematic literature search up to April 2022, was performed and 446 501 subjects with total joint arthroplasty at the baseline of the studies; 200 433 of them were confirmed serologic malnutrition, and 246 068 were confirmed normal nutrition. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the effect of serologic malnutrition on postoperative wound infection problems after total joint arthroplasty using the dichotomous method with a random or fixed-effect model. The serologic malnutrition subjects had a significantly higher wound disruption (OR, 1.97; 95% CI, 1.53–2.53, P < 0.001), higher superficial incisional surgical site infection (OR, 2.89; 95% CI, 1.67–5.01, P < 0.001), higher deep incisional surgical site infection (OR, 3.06; 95% CI, 2.36–3.96, P < 0.001), and higher organ space surgical site infection (OR, 3.15; 95% CI, 2.34–4.24, P < 0.001) in subjects after total joint arthroplasty compared with normal nutrition. The serologic malnutrition subjects had a significantly higher wound disruption, superficial incisional surgical site infection, deep incisional surgical site infection, and organ space surgical site infection in subjects after total joint arthroplasty compared with normal nutrition. The analysis of outcomes should be with caution because of the low number of studies in certain comparisons.