This retrospective study analyzed 682 patients who underwent primary total hip or knee arthroplasty to evaluate the impact of malnutrition on post-operative outcomes. Malnutrition, as defined by the Nutritional Risk Screening 2002 (NRS-2002) and controlling nutritional status (CONUT) scores, was significantly associated with higher rates of post-operative infection and poorer quality-of-life scores. Early nutritional assessment may improve post-operative recovery and reduce complication rates.

In this article we discuss how gut microbiota can affect the outcomes of a total joint arthroplasty. Total joint arthroplasty is a safe procedure for improving the quality of life in patients affected by arthrosis. Periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) is relatively rare but represents one of the most common causes of implant failure requiring revision surgery. Recently, there has been a major interest in the role of gut microbiome, in particular dysbiosis, as a risk factor for PJI.