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Analysis of factors affecting operating time, postoperative complications, and length of stay for total knee arthroplasty: nationwide web-based survey

  • Original Article
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Journal of Orthopaedic Science

Abstract

Background

This study aimed to clarify the impact of various factors on the operating time, postoperative complications, and length of stay (LOS) after total knee arthroplasty (TKA).

Methods

We identified 3577 TKAs performed in 345 hospitals in Japan from November 2006 to March 2007. We examined the patient characteristics, surgical procedure details, hospital and surgeon volumes, and outcome variables (operating time, postoperative complications, LOS).

Results

The average operating time was 127 ± 47 min. The rate of postoperative complications was 9.8%. The average LOS was 35.1 ± 15.9 days. In multivariate regression analyses, the average operating times were significantly shorter at hospitals with >10 cases per year compared to hospitals with <10 cases per year and for surgeons with ≥100 total cases compared to surgeons with <100 total cases. A longer operating time was associated with revision surgery and use of computer navigation. Significant predictors of postoperative complications were age, body mass index, and cerebrovascular disease. Shorter LOS was associated with higher hospital volume and use of a clinical pathway, whereas age, cardiovascular disease, and revision surgery increased the length of stay.

Conclusions

Postoperative complications following TKA mainly depended on patient-based factors and were not significantly affected by the surgeon’s experience.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Management and Policy, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan

    Hideo Yasunaga

  2. Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Toho University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Kazuaki Tsuchiya

  3. Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Yutaka Matsuyama

  4. Department of Medical Informatics and Economics, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Kazuhiko Ohe

Authors
  1. Hideo Yasunaga
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  2. Kazuaki Tsuchiya
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  3. Yutaka Matsuyama
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  4. Kazuhiko Ohe
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Yasunaga, H., Tsuchiya, K., Matsuyama, Y. et al. Analysis of factors affecting operating time, postoperative complications, and length of stay for total knee arthroplasty: nationwide web-based survey. J Orthop Sci 14, 10–16 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00776-008-1294-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00776-008-1294-7

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