Impact of Inpatient Versus Outpatient Total Joint Arthroplasty on 30-Day Hospital Readmission Rates and Unplanned Episodes of Care




This article describes a study comparing 30-day readmission rates between patients undergoing outpatient versus inpatient total hip (THA) and knee (TKA) arthroplasty. A retrospective review of 137 patients undergoing outpatient total joint arthroplasty (TJA) and 106 patients undergoing inpatient (minimum 2-day hospital stay) TJA was conducted. Unplanned hospital readmissions and unplanned episodes of care were recorded. All patients completed a telephone survey. Seven inpatients and 16 outpatients required hospital readmission or an unplanned episode of care following hospital discharge. Readmission rates were higher for TKA than THA. The authors found no statistical differences in 30-day readmission or unplanned care episodes.





  • A significantly higher proportion of patients who had an outpatient TJA reported that they received excellent care the day of their surgery.





  • A significantly higher proportion of patients who had an outpatient TJA reported that they received excellent care the day of their surgery.






  • Of the 243 patients included in the study, 166 underwent primary TKA, and 77 underwent primary THA. All inpatient and outpatient TKAs were performed using spinal or general anesthesia, a medial parapatellar approach, and included perioperative multimodal pain management. All inpatient and outpatient THAs were performed under spinal or general anesthesia at the discretion of the anesthesiologist. A standard posterior lateral approach and included perioperative multimodal pain management, which included nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories, oral acetaminophen, short-acting oral narcotics, and either local periarticular joint injection or peripheral nerve blocks were utilized. Fig. 1 illustrates the breakdown of the study sample.




    Fig. 1


    Study sample.






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    Feb 23, 2017 | Posted by in ORTHOPEDIC | Comments Off on Impact of Inpatient Versus Outpatient Total Joint Arthroplasty on 30-Day Hospital Readmission Rates and Unplanned Episodes of Care

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