Inpatient Hospital Costs, Emergency Department Visits, and Readmissions for Revision Hip and Knee Arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: Revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) tremendously burden hospital resources. This study evaluated factors influencing perioperative costs, including emergency department (ED) visits, readmissions, and total costs-of-care within 90 days following revision surgery. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 772 revision TKAs and THAs performed on 630 subjects at a single center between January 2007 and December 2019 was conducted. Cost data were available from January 2015 to December 2019 for 277 patients. Factors examined included comorbidities, demographic information, preoperative Anesthesia Society of Anesthesiologists score, implant selection, and operative indication using mixed-effects linear regression models. RESULTS: Among 772 revisions (425 THAs and 347 TKAs), 213 patients required an ED visit, and 90 required hospital readmission within 90 days. There were 22.6% of patients who underwent a second procedure after their initial revision. Liver disease was a significant predictor of ED readmission for THA patients (multivariable odds ratio [OR]: 3.473, P = .001), while aseptic loosening, osteolysis, or instability significantly reduced the odds of readmission for TKA patients (OR: 0.368, P = .014). In terms of ED visits, liver disease increased the odds for THA patients (OR: 1.845, P = .100), and aseptic loosening, osteolysis, or instability decreased the odds for TKA patients (OR: 0.223, P < .001). Increased age was associated with increased costs in both THA and TKA patients, with significant cost factors including congestive heart failure for TKA patients (OR: $7,308.17, P = .004) and kidney disease for THA patients. Revision surgeries took longer than primary ones, with TKA averaging 3.0 hours (1.6 times longer) and THA 2.8 hours (1.5 times longer). CONCLUSIONS: Liver disease increases ED readmission risk in revision THA, while aseptic loosening, osteolysis, or instability decreases it in revision TKA. Increased age and congestive heart failure are associated with increased costs. These findings inform postoperative care and resource allocation in revision arthroplasty. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Economic and Decision Analysis, Level IV.

Demographic Data Reliably Predicts Total Hip Arthroplasty Component Size.

BACKGROUND: Preoperative radiographic templating for total hip arthroplasty (THA) has been shown to be inaccurate, although essential for streamlining operating room efficiency. Although demographic data have shown to predict total knee arthroplasty component sizes, the unique contour and design among femoral stem implants have limited a similar application for hip arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to determine whether demographic data may predict cementless THA size independent of the stem design. METHODS: A consecutive series of 1,653 index cementless metaphyseal-fitting THAs were reviewed between 2007 and 2019. This included 12 unique femoral component designs, 6 acetabular component designs, 60 femur size-design combinations, and 23 acetabular size-design combinations. Implanted component sizes and patient demographic data were collected, including gender, height, weight, laterality, age, race, and ethnicity. Multivariate linear regressions were formulated to predict implanted femur and acetabular component sizes from the demographic data. RESULTS: There was a significant linear correlation between gender, implant model, age, height, and weight for femur (R2 = 0.778; P < .001) and acetabular (R2 = 0.491; P < .001) sizes. Calculated femur and acetabular component sizes averaged within 0.97 and 0.95 sizes of those implants, respectively. Femur and acetabular sizes were predicted within 1 size 79.1% and 78.2% and within 2 sizes 94.3% and 94.6% of the time, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Multivariate regression models were created based on specific demographics data to predict femur and acetabular component sizes. The model allows for simplified preoperative planning and potential cost savings implementation. A free phone application named EasyTJA was constructed for ease of implementation.

Do silver-based wound dressings reduce pain? A prospective study and review of the literature.

Silver-containing dressings are a mainstay in the management of burn injury and acute and chronic wounds. In addition to antimicrobial activity, there is anecdotal evidence that silver dressings may modulate or reduce wound pain. Pain is subjective and difficult to quantify, and most studies of silver-containing dressings evaluate pain as a secondary rather than a primary outcome. Nevertheless, a dressing with a proven ability to reduce pain independent of systemic analgesics would have great utility. In this study, we compared patient-reported pain levels in patients previously randomized to receiving silver-nylon dressings vs. conventional gauze dressings in a study of surgical site infection. Compared to gauze dressings, patients in the silver dressing group reported less pain between postoperative days 0 and 9 (p<0.02). Post hoc analysis of analgesic use did not reach statistical significance between the groups. The study was completed with a literature review of the effect of silver on pain. Silver-based dressings may reduce wound pain by providing an occlusive barrier or by other as-yet undefined mechanisms. The role of silver in pain relief, however, cannot be definitively stated until well-designed prospective randomized studies evaluating pain as a primary endpoint are carried out.