In an attempt to decrease costs without increasing complication burden, the development of rapid recovery protocols has led to an increased push for decreased length of hospital stay (LOS) following total hip arthroplasty (THA). The purpose of this study was to analyze trends in LOS and complications following THA over a 10-year period.
Using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program registry from 2006 to 2016, we identified all patients who underwent primary THA. Patients were placed into 3 cohorts based on the year of surgery (2006-2009 [N = 3873], 2010-2013 [N = 45,992], 2014-2016 [N = 86,099]). Differences in LOS, operative time, readmission rates, and 30-day postoperative medical complications were compared using bivariate and multivariate analyses.
Multivariate regression analysis identified a significant decrease in LOS in days for the 2010-2013 cohort (3.2 ± 4.8, P < .001) and 2014-2016 cohort (2.7 ± 2.5, P < .001) compared to the 2006-2009 cohort (3.8 ± 2.5). Despite decreasing LOS, there were significantly lower complications in the later cohorts, with significantly lower rates of all complications (5.27% [2006-2009], 3.77% [2009-2013], 3.14% [2013-2016]), sepsis (0.70%, 0.31%, 0.16%), and urinary tract infection (1.94%, 1.23%, 0.83%) using both bivariate and multivariate analyses (P < .001). In addition, there was no significant difference in unplanned 30-day readmissions (3.66% [2010-2013] vs 3.5% [2014-2016], P = .142).
Over the last decade, there has been a decrease in LOS and an improved short-term complication profile for THA. With continually increasing rates of utilization of THA along broader patient demographics, these changes are important to help mitigate the costs of higher volume.