Safety of home discharge after total joint surgery

Editor's Note

Patients who live alone can recover effectively and safely at home after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA), finds this study presented March 14 at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons in San Diego.

Of 638 patients analyzed (364 THA, 274 TKA), 97.5% of THA and 92.3% of TKA patients were discharged directly home, and 17.1% of THA and 16.5% of TKA patients were living alone.

When patients living alone were compared with those living with other people, no significant differences were found in 30-day complications, hospital readmissions, emergency room visits, unscheduled office visits, reoperations, functional outcome measures, weekly pain assessments, time off assistive walking devices, return to driving, and return to work.  

Patients living alone had longer hospitalizations−THA 1.1 vs 1.0 days and TKA 1.9 vs 1.3 days.

Extending the initial hospitalization for patients living alone instead of automatically discharging these patients to a rehab facility is considerably more cost-effective, the researchers conclude. 

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (March 14, 2017)-Despite higher costs, many doctors recommend and some patients prefer, recovery at an in-patient rehabilitation facility following total hip (THR) or total knee replacement (TKR) surgery. And yet a new study to be presented Thursday, March 16, at the 2017 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), found that even patients who live alone can recover effectively and safely at home.