Predictors of 30-Day Re-hospitalization After Total Hip and Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Orthopedic Ward Perspective

Abstract

Objective: The study was aimed to elucidate risk factors identifiable from ward-derived data of thirty-day re-hospitalization among patients undergoing total hip and total knee arthroplasty. Methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional and prospective study. The data of the study were collected through the Patient Sociodemographic Form, the Nurse Physical Assessment and Observation Form, the Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and the Katz Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Scale. Results: Patients were scored using this CCI system and grouped as high (high CCI group >2, n = 49) and low CCI (low CCI group ≤2, n = 78) with a cut-off score of 2. The 30-day re-hospitalization rate was 14.2%, and the most common reason for re-hospitalization was a surgical infection. Surgical risk, Activities of daily living dependency, and comorbidities index scores of the patients were not significantly additive effects on rehospitalization (p> 0.05). The results indicate that surgical infection was often the cause of higher rates of re-hospitalization among patients with total knee and total hip arthroplasty. Conclusions: Conclusions: Orthopedic nurses should close observation of surgical site infection and design an effective discharge following-up order to the prevention of re-hospitalization in patients with“high risk”.