Abstract

FIGUEIREDO, Sérgio; MACHADO, Luís; SA, António  and  LOUREIRO, Jacinto. Artroplastia total do joelho Tempo total de internamento, complicações e reinternamentos a 30 dias. Rev. Port. Ortop. Traum. [online]. 2013, vol.21, n.2, pp.191-199. ISSN 1646-2122.

Introduction: The amount of total knee replacements is increasing as a result of population aging. Centro Hospitalar Leiria e Pombal, Leiria, Portugal, is the main responsible for the total amount of procedures done nationally. Trying to decrease the costs associated with this procedure, there’s an increased effort to diminuish hospital’s length of stay. Objectives: relationship between a decrease in hospital’s length of stay and both complications withing 30 days post-operatively and all-cause readmissions within 30 days after discharge. Results: the population in study is composed of 899 patients. The length of stay decreased from 6,95±1,48 days between July 1st 2007 and December 31st 2007, to 4,07±0,32 days between January 1st 2012 and June 30th 2012. Observed complications were 35 (3,9%), with 13 (1,4%) infectious events, 7 (0,8%) suture deiscenses, 7 (0,8%) hemorrhagic events, 2 (0,2%) thromboembolic events, 3 (0,4%) gastrointenstinal events, 1 (0,1%) periprosthetic fracture, 1 (0,1%) miocardial infarction, 2 (0,2%) deaths. All-cause readmission rate within 30 days after discharge was 6,4%. We couldn’t find a relation between the inhospital length of stay and both complications with 30 days post-op (p=0,2019) and all-cause readmission within 30 days after discharge (p=0,280). Conclusion: achieved data mirrors other international studies, not achieving a relevant association between a decrease in inhospital length of stay and an increase in complications or readmissions in the short term.

Keywords : Total knee replacement; length of stay; complication; all-cause readmission.

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