Outpatient and Inpatient Fast-Track Knee Arthroplasty Show Similar Complication Rates, unravels study

• After propensity score matching, 173 outpatients and 316 inpatient FT TKAs were compared.

• The study found no significant differences in intraoperative complication rates (2% in both groups).

• At the 90-day follow-up, total complications without readmission were 8.0% in outpatients and 7.9% in inpatients.

• Complications with readmission but no reoperation were 1.1% for outpatients and 0.6% for inpatients.

• Complications requiring reoperation occurred in 4.0% of outpatients and 4.4% of inpatients.

• The CIF analysis revealed no significant differences in the timing of postoperative complication diagnosis between the outpatient and inpatient groups.

The findings indicate that outpatient FT TKA is as safe as inpatient FT TKA in terms of 90-day postoperative complication rates, intraoperative complications, readmissions, and reoperations. This supports the growing trend towards outpatient surgical pathways, which can offer benefits such as reduced healthcare costs and improved patient convenience without compromising safety.

This study demonstrates that outpatient FT TKA has similar complication rates and clinical outcomes to inpatient FT TKA, suggesting that outpatient pathways are a safe and effective option for suitable patients. These findings may encourage more surgeons to adopt outpatient FT TKA, potentially leading to broader application and benefits for patients and healthcare systems alike.

Reference:

Jenny, J.-Y., Godet, J., Muller, J. H., Kumble, A., Ramos-Pascual, S., Saffarini, M., Biette, G., Boisrenoult, P., Brochard, D., Brosset, T., Cariven, P., Chouteau, J., Hulet, C., Demey, G., Villeminot, J., & de Ladoucette, A. (2024). Complication rates are not higher after outpatient versus inpatient fast-track total knee arthroplasty: A propensity-matched prospective comparative study. The Journal of Arthroplasty. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.arth.2024.06.006