Research published in the Journal of Arthroplasty identified the reasons why patients selected as candidates for same day discharge stayed overnight, as well as the preoperative factors common in patients who weren't discharged the same day as surgery.
Researchers studied 106 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty who were candidates for same-day discharge. Researchers explored why these patients were not being discharged the same day as surgery. They also examined preoperative patient characteristics that could be linked to same-day discharge.
Here's what you should know:
1. Out of the patients studied, 74 percent were successfully discharged the same day as their surgery.
2. The 28 patients who were not discharged the same day cited: patient preference, hypotension or dizziness, failing to clear physical therapy, urinary retention and pain management as the reasons they stayed overnight.
3. In the failed same-day discharge group, patients were more likely to have allergies, anxiety, depression, obstructive sleep apnea and rheumatoid arthritis.
4. "Same day discharge is a viable option for surgeons interested in rapid recovery total hip arthroplasty. In a pool of patients selected for same-day discharge, the main cause of same day discharge failure was a change in patient preference postoperatively, despite having agreed to same day discharge preoperatively and meeting all discharge criteria," the researchers concluded.