Hospital Readmission in Total Hip Replacement Patients in 2009 and 2014.
Michael P Cary, Victoria Goode, Nancy Crego and 6 others
PMID 29407518WHAT IT FOUND
National 30-day readmission rate after total hip replacement fell 1.3% from 2009 to 2014, but device complications made up nearly 24% of readmissions.
Readmission rose 0.5% in patients aged 18 to 44, and lower-income or rural groups saw smaller reductions.
Key findings
01The overall 30-day readmission rate for THR patients dropped 1.3% from 2009 to 2014.
02Device complications were the most frequent cause of THR readmission, accounting for 19.8% in 2009 and nearly 24% in 2014.
03Readmission rates fell 1.8% in patients 65 and older and 0.4% in patients 45 to 64, but rose 0.5% in patients 18 to 44.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study used aggregated hospital data and did not test whether the differences were statistically significant. It did not adjust for race, comorbidities, hospital teaching status, surgical volume, or access to post-acute care. The text gives counts of readmitted patients, not the total number of THR patients. It could not identify the type of implant used.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The article is tagged as NIH extramural research support.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 1.3% overall drop as uniform improvement. Readmission rose 0.5% in patients aged 18 to 44, and device complications increased from 19.8% to nearly 24% of readmissions.