Rehospitalizations due to surgical site infections after a knee or hip replacement cost the U.S. healthcare system as much as $65 million annually, according to an analysis presented today at the 39th Annual Educational Conference and International Meeting of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology.
The research team analyzed data from health insurance claims for approximately 40 million insured individuals covered by employer-based health plans to determine the readmission rate and the financial impact of surgical site infections beyond the initial hospitalization for that diagnosis. The team chose to follow patients who had received artificial knees and hips because treatment for an infected joint can be prolonged, involving lengthy courses of antibiotics and additional surgeries.
Of 174,425 patients who underwent hip or knee replacement in 2007, 2,134 (1.2 percent) were hospitalized for a surgical site infection within one year following their procedure. Of those, 267 (12.5 percent) were subsequently re-hospitalized in the year after the initial SSI hospitalization specifically due to SSI-related issues, for a total of 384 hospitalizations. The data also showed that 870 patients with SSI (40.8 percent) were hospitalized for other reasons labeled "all cause" during the year after their diagnosis, accounting for 1,770 readmissions.
Subsequent rehospitalizations for SSI were associated with an average hospital stay of 8.6 days, costing on average $26,812. Additional all-cause hospital readmissions were associated with an average hospital stay of 6.2 days and a cost of $31,046.
The research team analyzed data from health insurance claims for approximately 40 million insured individuals covered by employer-based health plans to determine the readmission rate and the financial impact of surgical site infections beyond the initial hospitalization for that diagnosis. The team chose to follow patients who had received artificial knees and hips because treatment for an infected joint can be prolonged, involving lengthy courses of antibiotics and additional surgeries.
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Of 174,425 patients who underwent hip or knee replacement in 2007, 2,134 (1.2 percent) were hospitalized for a surgical site infection within one year following their procedure. Of those, 267 (12.5 percent) were subsequently re-hospitalized in the year after the initial SSI hospitalization specifically due to SSI-related issues, for a total of 384 hospitalizations. The data also showed that 870 patients with SSI (40.8 percent) were hospitalized for other reasons labeled "all cause" during the year after their diagnosis, accounting for 1,770 readmissions.
Subsequent rehospitalizations for SSI were associated with an average hospital stay of 8.6 days, costing on average $26,812. Additional all-cause hospital readmissions were associated with an average hospital stay of 6.2 days and a cost of $31,046.
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