Preoperative thrombocytopenia and thrombocytosis predict complications after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

Background: The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between preoperative platelet count and 30-day postoperative complications following arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (aRCR). Methods: The American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement database was queried for all patients who underwent aRCR between 2015 and 2021. The study population was divided into 5 groups based on preoperative platelet count: normal (200-450k, reference cohort), low-normal (150-200k), mild thrombocytopenia (100-150k), moderate-to-severe thrombocytopenia (<100k), and thrombocytosis (>450k). Thirty-day postoperative complications following aRCR were collected. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between preoperative platelet counts and postoperative complications. Results: 24,779 patients were included in this study: 18,697 (75.5%) in the normal group, 4730 (19.1%) in the low-normal group, 1012 (4.1%) in the mild thrombocytopenia group, 171 (0.7%) in the moderate-to-severe thrombocytopenia group, and 169 (0.7%) in the thrombocytosis group. Low-normal platelets were an independent predictor of urinary tract infection (odds ratio [OR] 2.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12-3.77; Conclusion: Abnormal preoperative platelet counts, both low and high, were independent risk factors for 30-day postoperative complications following aRCR.