Risk factors in total joint arthroplasty: comparison of infection rates in patients with different socioeconomic backgrounds.

Infection after total joint arthroplasty is a serious complication. Several risk factors have been shown to increase the risk of total joint infections. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether socioeconomic background was a risk factor for infection in primary total joint arthroplasty. A retrospective chart review was conducted over a 4-year period on a single surgeon's split practice between private patients with mostly private insurance and Medicare and county based patients with predominately indigent county health coverage and Medicaid. An infection rate was calculated for each population in both primary total knee and hip arthroplasty. The two populations were statistically analyzed for differences in age, preoperative diagnoses, and socioeconomic background. To our knowledge, this is the first study showing an increased risk of infection in total joint arthroplasty based on socioeconomic background.