Do underweight patients (body mass index (BMI) < 18.5Kg/m2) have a higher risk of surgical site infection/periprosthetic joint infection (SSI/PJI) following orthopaedic procedures? If yes, does increasing the BMI in underweight patients reduce the risk of SSI/PJI?

Authors: Jorge Manrique, Andrew Battenberg, João Mauricio Barretto

RECOMMENDATION: Yes. Underweight patients (BMI < 18.5K/m2) have a higher risk of SSI/PJI following orthopaedic procedures. However, there is no current evidence indicating that an increase in the BMI of an underweight individual has an effect on reducing the risk of SSI/PJI. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Moderate

DELEGATE VOTE: Agree: 92%, Disagree: 4%, Abstain: 4% (Super Majority, Strong Consensus)

RATIONALE: