Hospital Discharge Within a Day After Total Knee Arthroplasty Does Not Affect 1-Year Complications Compared With Rapid Discharge

Fostering Excellence in Knee Arthroplasty: Developing Optimal Patient Care Pathways and Inspiring Knowledge Transfer of Advanced Surgical Techniques

Osteoarthritis of the knee is common. Early sports trauma or cartilage defects are risk factors for osteoarthritis. If conservative treatment fails, partial or total joint replacement is often performed. A joint replacement aims to restore physiological biomechanics and the quality of life of affected patients. Total knee arthroplasty is one of the most performed surgeries in musculoskeletal medicine. Several developments have taken place over the last decades that have truly altered the way we look at knee arthroplasty today. Some of the fascinating aspects will be presented and discussed in the present narrative review.

Does interaction occur between risk factors for revision total knee arthroplasty?

INTRODUCTION

Several risk factors for revision TKA have previously been identified, but interactions between risk factors may occur and affect risk of revision. To our knowledge, such interactions have not been previously studied. As patients often exhibit multiple risk factors for revision, knowledge of these interactions can help improve risk stratification and patient education prior to TKA.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The State Inpatient Databases (SID), part of the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), were queried to identify patients who underwent TKA between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2015. Risk factors for revision TKA were identified, and interactions between indication for TKA and other risk factors were analyzed.

RESULTS

Of 958,944 patients who underwent TKA, 33,550 (3.5%) underwent revision. Age, sex, race, length of stay, Elixhauser readmission score, urban/rural designation, and indication for TKA were significantly associated with revision (p < 0.05). Age was the strongest predictor (p  < 0.0001), with younger patients exhibiting higher revision risk. Risks associated with age were modified by an interaction with indication for TKA (p < 0.0001). There was no significant interaction between sex and indication for TKA (p = 0.535) or race and indication for TKA (p = 0.187).

CONCLUSIONS

Age, sex, race, length of stay, Elixhauser readmission score, urban/rural designation, and indication for TKA are significantly associated with revision TKA. Interaction occurs between age and indication.

Routine Use of Bladder Scans After Primary Total Joint Arthroplasty is Not Necessary: Results of a Protocol Change

BACKGROUND

Postoperative urinary retention is a common concern after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) and can cause discomfort, incontinence and, if left untreated, myogenic changes to the bladder. However, overdiagnosis of postoperative urinary retention by bladder scans may lead to unnecessary interventions and delayed discharges. The purpose of this study was to compare the safety of two bladder management protocols following TJA.

METHODS

From January 3, 2022 to April 29, 2022, 519 consecutive patients operated on by thirteen surgeons underwent routine postoperative bladder scanning (standard protocol). From February 28, 2022 to April 29, 2022, a new protocol was introduced by three surgeons in 209 consecutive patients using a specific algorithm (selective protocol) so that only symptomatic patients had bladder scans. The primary outcome of interest was catheterization rate. Chi-square and Students t-tests were used for analyses. There were 37.7% of patients in the selective group who received scans.

RESULTS

Times to catheterization, readmissions, emergency department visits, and straight catheterization rates (15.0 versus 14.8% P = .999) were similar. More scans in the selective group resulted in intervention (39.2 versus 15.0%, P < .001). Prevoid volumes were higher in the selective protocol (608 versus 448 mL, P < .001). Postvoid volumes were similar (233 versus 223 mL, P = .497). There was one readmission for a urinary tract infection in the standard group and no urinary-related readmissions in the selective group.

CONCLUSION

The selective protocol had a higher rate of same day discharge, fewer bladder scans, and did not lead to increased rates of urinary-related complications. These findings suggest that selective bladder scanning for symptomatic patients can be safely instituted for TJA patients.

Predicting Total Knee Arthroplasty Outpatient Discharge: Surgeons versus Insurance Companies

BACKGROUND

Insurance companies are increasingly making unilateral determinations of admission status for primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA). These determinations may differ from those based on surgeon-derived criteria for outpatient knee replacement. The goal of this study is to determine if insurance company determinations of outpatient status are as reliable as surgeon-derived criteria in predicting outpatient discharge after TKA.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed 709 patients who were preoperatively authorized for outpatient TKA. Patients were stratified into 2 groups: "outpatient per surgeon" (appropriate for outpatient surgery per institutional protocols) or "outpatient per insurance" (appropriate for inpatient surgery per institutional protocols but denied inpatient status by insurance). The primary endpoint of this study was the conversion rate of outpatient to inpatient stay. Univariate logistic regression was performed to compare the odds of conversion to inpatient stay between outpatient per surgeon and outpatient per insurance procedures and other covariates.

RESULTS

The cohort included 434 outpatient per insurance (61.2%) and 275 outpatient per surgeon (38.8%) patients. Surgeons accurately predicted outpatients' discharge 92.0% of the time, while insurance companies did so 81.3% of time (P < .001). Outpatient per insurance procedures (odds ratio [OR] 2.20, P = .003) and body mass index >35 kg/m² (OR 1.82, P = .026) had higher odds of being converted to inpatient. Males had higher odds (OR 1.52, P < .001) of being discharged as outpatient.

CONCLUSION

Determining inpatient versus outpatient status is a complex decision involving both clinical and social factors. Surgeons accurately predicted outpatient discharge 92% of the time. Moreover, outpatient per insurance procedures were twice as likely to be converted to inpatient status. Therefore, insurance companies should leave deciding admission status up to both the patient and surgeon.

Surgical Complications After Reverse Total Shoulder Arthroplasty and Total Shoulder Arthroplasty in the United States

Shoulder arthroplasty has become popular in the treatment of degenerative shoulder conditions in the United States. Shoulder arthroplasty usage has expanded to younger patients with increased surgical indications.

Cervical spine degenerative disease is an independent risk factor for increased revision rate following total knee arthroplasty

INTRODUCTION

The relationship between cervical degenerative pathology and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) revision rates is not well understood. The aim of the study was to determine whether cervical spine degenerative diseases have a role in complications following TKA within 2 years.

METHODS

Data were collected from the Humana insurance database using the PearlDiver Patient Records Database from 2007-2017. Patients who had a primary TKA were identified using Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code 27,447, and patients with degenerative cervical disease were identified using CPT and International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes. Data on patients' demographics, comorbidities and postoperative complications were recorded and analyzed with univariate and multivariate analysis with significance set at p < 0.05. A Kaplan-Meier analysis was conducted to estimate the 1- and 2-year rates of survival free from revision.

RESULTS

A total of 81,873 patients were included in this study. Following multivariate analysis, cervical spine degenerative disease patients were at increased risk of all-cause revision surgery following 1 year (OR: 1.342 95% CI: 1.149-1.569; p < 0.001) and 2 year (OR: 1.338; 95% CI: 1.184-1.512; p < 0.001). At 2 years, patients with cervical spine degenerative disease had a survival rate of 97.7%, while the survival rate was 99.2% among the non-cervical degenerative cohort.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on these results, patients with cervical spine degenerative pathology should be counseled that their spinal pathology may impair outcomes following TKA.