Description
Tim Board discusses the Rejoin study, a collaboration involving the British Society, Knee Society, BOA, and GIRFT, aimed at evaluating the safety of elective hip and knee replacement surgeries during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The presentation highlights the need for updated knowledge regarding surgical risks in a COVID context, noting difficulties in data capture to assess morbidity and mortality rates from surgery when patients contract COVID. The study recruits nearly 3,000 patients across six centers in the UK, focusing on preoperative isolation, COVID testing, and post-surgery outcomes. Initial findings indicate a very low rate (0.2%) of COVID positivity within 30 days post elective surgery and no related deaths, suggesting that elective procedures are relatively safe when appropriate screening is conducted. The data also contrasts higher risks associated with emergency surgeries, emphasizing the importance of understanding these differences while acknowledging the observational nature of the study and the need for further research.
DOI: 10.1302/3114-221784