Risk factors for complications after primary repair of Achilles tendon ruptures

Purpose: To identify patient characteristics associated with adverse events in Achilles tendon rupture (ATR) surgical repair cases. Methods: A high risk (HR) cohort group of ATR patients were compared to healthy controls in the ACSNSQIP database with multivariate regression analysis. Results: Overall, 2% (n=23) of the group sustained an AE postoperatively, most commonly superficial SSI (0.9%,n=10). Multivariate analysis did not reveal any patient characteristics to be significantly associated with the occurrence of an AE or superficial SSI. Conclusions: Obesity, diabetes and a history of smoking did not predispose patients to significantly more AEs in the 30 day postoperative period following ATR repair in this study.