Epidemiology of adolescent total knee arthroplasty patient and a comparison to adult patient demographics

Abstract

Background/Objective: An increasing prevalence of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures among the adolescent population makes it critical to establish a greater understanding of the patient and hospital demographics of this population. The purpose of this study is to compare inpatient demographics between the adolescent and adult populations as well as assess patient and hospital demographics at which adolescent TKA procedures are performed. Methods: Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) and Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database were used to retrieve data for all TKA patients under 20 years and over the age of 65, respectively. Variables analyzed included patient age, gender, ethnicity, primary diagnosis, length of stay, primary payer status, total hospital charges, complication rates, and hospital status. Results: The study found a significant increase in procedure frequency (156 to 448), complication rates (3.51% to 17.61%), and total charges ($38,776 to $128,811) for adolescent TKA patients. Some trends in demographics and outcomes for adolescent TKAs differed from their adult counterparts, as the primary diagnosis, hospital status, gender, and payer status. Additionally, the number of procedures, complication rates, length of stay, and charges were all significantly higher in adolescent than in adult TKAs. Conclusions: Although the TKA procedure rates are rising in the adolescent population, the lack of available demographic information limits the efficacy of the procedure in the younger population, presenting a challenge for health-care providers. Further studies should focus on whether epidemiological disparities, which have been noted in adults, also exist in the adolescent patient population.