Outpatient total hip arthroplasty and total knee arthroplasty is feasible in an academic multidisciplinary tertiary care hospital, according to research published in the Journal of Arthroplasty.
Researchers performed a retrospective review of 105 patients who underwent outpatient total hip arthroplasty or total knee arthroplasty and compared them to inpatients who underwent the same procedures during the same period.
The key details to know:
1. Researchers found that 83 of 105 patients were successfully discharged the day they had surgery.
2. Patients who were up and walking early and had a shorter duration of surgery were more likely to be discharged the same day.
3. Outpatient readmission and complication rates were lower for the outpatient group at .95 percent and 1.9 percent respectively and the matched inpatient rates were 3.7 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.
Researchers concluded, "Outpatient THA and TKA in a well-selected patient is feasible in an academic multidisciplinary tertiary care hospital, with complication rates approximating inpatient surgery. The findings reported here can be used to further optimize outpatient arthroplasty protocols."