Investigators at a multi-center orthopedic institute are evaluating the relationship between preoperative hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels and the incidence of prosthetic joint infections. To conduct the analysis, they access a comprehensive surgical database containing records of all patients who underwent elective total knee arthroplasty between 2018 and 2023. The researchers categorize the identified patients into two groups: those who had a preoperative HbA1c 8.0% and those who had an HbA1c < 8.0%. They then examine the follow-up clinical notes and microbiology reports within the database to calculate and compare the frequency of prosthetic joint infections that occurred within one year of surgery for both groups. Which of the following best describes the study design used in this investigation?
- ACase-control study
- BCross-sectional study
- CNested case-control study
- DProspective cohort study
- Retrospective cohort studyCevap