Publication:

Does obesity, duration of symptoms and pre-operative knee movements amend discharge readiness and outcomes following total knee arthroplasty?

Background Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) being the definite procedure in degenerative arthritis of the knee is associated with a high cost that includes the cost of implants and in-hospital length of stay (LOS). Incurring such high costs will put a burden on the patients economically, so the goal being the reduction of hospital stay yet improving the functional outcome with better patient satisfaction.

Methods The study design is a retrospective analysis of 1022 patients of primary elective TKA, performed in our institution. The targeted indicators were sex, body mass index (BMI), pre-operative knee range of movements (ROM), knee deformity and duration of symptoms were analyzed.

Results Analyzing these patients, we found the average LOS is 6.4 days, and obesity, pre-op ROM and deformity all play a role to delay the discharge readiness in the patients. Our study showed that LOS after TKA is multifactorial.

Conclusions In acute setting for readiness of discharge the preoperative knee movements, deformity and patients’ functional abilities can be used to segregate patients who may require close monitoring or intensive physiotherapy.