Prevalence of total knee arthroplasty and its predictive factors in Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Analysis using the NinJa cohort.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to clarify the prevalence and the predictive factors for undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: The data of 1,134 patients with RA who were enrolled in the Japanese nationwide cohort database NinJa in 2003 and consecutively followed up until 2009 were analyzed.

Results: Seventy-six patients underwent TKA during the observation period.

Prophylactic effect of fondaparinux and enoxaparin for preventing pulmonary embolism after total hip or knee arthroplasty: A retrospective observational study using the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of fondaparinux and enoxaparin combined with mechanical prophylaxis (MP) after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We also investigated the occurrence of pulmonary embolism (PE) and its associated risk factors.

Methods: Data were retrospectively collected on patients who underwent THA or TKA between 2008 and 2010 from the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination database (n = 49,678).

Risk factors affecting inhospital mortality after hip fracture: retrospective analysis using the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination Database.

Objective: To identify risk factors for inhospital mortality in patients with hip fractures using the Japanese Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) nationwide administrative claims database.

Design: Retrospective observational study.

Setting: Hospitals adopting the DPC system during 2007-2009.

Risk factors for pulmonary embolism and the effects of fondaparinux after total hip and knee arthroplasty: a retrospective observational study with use of a national database in Japan.

Background: Clinical evidence demonstrating the effectiveness of pharmacological and mechanical thromboprophylaxis for the prevention of pulmonary embolism is limited because the prevalence of postoperative pulmonary embolism following total hip and knee arthroplasty is very low. Our purposes were to characterize a patient population with in-hospital pulmonary embolism, to identify perioperative risk factors associated with pulmonary embolism, and to analyze the effect of combining fondaparinux with mechanical prophylaxis on the prevalence of pulmonary embolism following total hip and knee arthroplasty.

Methods: We retrospectively identified 27,542 patients who underwent total hip or knee arthroplasty at 793 hospitals, using data from the Diagnosis Procedure Combination database, collected from July 1 to December 31 in 2007 and 2008.