Publication:

Development of DVT in an operated case of cemented bipolar hemiarthroplasty during COVID pandemic: a case report

One of the most common treatment for fracture neck of femur in the elderly is bipolar hemi-arthroplasty which is associated with the patient being mobilized early, lower complication rate, longer implant life. Both uncemented and cemented arthroplasty have been associated with good outcomes, however cemented arthroplasty has higher incidences of DVT due to the thrombogenic potential of cement in addition to the hypercoagulability due to the femoral fracture. Hence, DVT remains a life-threatening complication of arthroplasty, despite the preventive measures owing also to certain genetic and acquired risk factors. We have a 70-year-old female patient, who presented to us with a post traumatic right sided displaced neck of femur with greater trochanter fracture following an alleged history of slip and fall at home who was operated with cemented bipolar hemi-arthroplasty. The patient developed deep vein thrombosis of the operated limb even after adequate mobilization with full weight bearing over the operated limb from post op day 2 and other adequate physiotherapy exercises such as hip/knee ROM exercises and ankle pump exercises. Although, our case report seems to be too far-fetched in terms of correlating this episode of DVT even after adequate mobilization from POD-2 to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic causing a sub-clinical asymptomatic coronavirus infection causing an increased hypercoagulability of the blood as has been demonstrated by various studies, it does provide substantial evidence which warrants wider multi-centric studies in order to provide a definite correlation of the aforementioned scenario.