Rapid Discharge to Home After Total Knee Arthroplasty Is Safe in Eligible Medicare Patients

Abstract

BackgroundThis study was aimed at assessing the risk of readmission for Medicare patients discharged home within a day of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) compared to those discharged on day 2 or beyond in a community medical center. MethodsA hospital inpatient database was queried for all unilateral, primary TKAs performed on patients 65 years or older from January 1, 2013, to December 31, 2015. A total of 2287 patients met the study criteria, of which 1502 were discharged within a day (short stay), and 785 were discharged on day 2 or beyond (traditional stay). The main outcome measures were all-cause 30-day and unplanned 90-day readmissions. ResultsShort-stay patients did not experience a higher 30-day readmission rate (1.1%) compared to the traditional-stay patients (2.7%), nor did they experience a higher rate of unplanned 90-day readmissions (1.7% vs 3.6%). The short-stay group had more favorable demographics compared to the traditional-stay group. Logistic regression results revealed that none of the demographic factors considered had a statistically significant impact on 30-day readmission odds for either group. For unplanned 90-day readmissions, the results showed that for the short-stay patients, with the exception of age, none of the other demographic factors had significant impact on readmission odds and none were significant for the traditional-stay group. ConclusionOur results suggest that the Medicare patients meeting discharge criteria and discharged home within a day of TKA do not have an increased risk of 30-day and 90-day readmission.