Preoperative patient education may influence the patient's choice of anesthetic technique for total knee arthroplasty, according to a poster presented at the 41st Annual Regional Anesthesiology and Acute Pain Medicine Meeting 2016, March 31 to April 1, in New Orleans.
Researchers retrospectively identified 1,521 patients who had a TKA procedure between April 2013 and December 2014 at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center in Philadelphia. Of those, 1,010 patients underwent unilateral primary TKA. Researchers recorded the type of anesthetic technique used in each case as well as a number of other variables, including patient demographics, observed length of hospital stay and attendance of the preoperative joint procedure education class.
Here are six insights:
1. Of the 1,010 patients, 31 percent attended the preoperative joint class.
2. Around 48 percent of the patients received regional spinal anesthesia for their TKA, while the remaining 52 percent received general anesthesia.
3. Patients who attended the preoperative joint class had higher odds of receiving regional spinal anesthesia when compared to those who did not attend the class.
4. Patients attending the joint class were significantly older than those who did not attend.
5. Patient attendance in the class was differed based on the attending surgeon.
6. There was no difference between the spinal anesthesia and general anesthesia groups in terms of intensive care unit admission rate, length of hospital stay and overall observed cost per admission.
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