Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate the outcome of inpatient rehabilitation following total hip arthroplasty using the Harris hip score. Factors influencing the result were analysed.
Method: 338 patients admitted to a rehabilitation unit after total hip replacement were included in a prospective study. There were 252 female and 86 male patients, with a mean age of 69 (+/- 9.7) years (range, 34 to 88 years).
Results: At admission the Harris hip score was 63.1 (+/- 10.4) and was improved by almost 25 % to 79.1 (+/- 7.1) at discharge. The percentage of patients with a poor score was decreased from 71.9 % to 8 % after rehabilitation. The result of rehabilitation was independent of sex, age, concomitant diagnoses or weight bearing. 61 patients could not be discharged after three weeks as usual and stayed for another 8.0 (+/- 4.5) days. At admission these patients had significantly lower scores (58.5 +/- 10.8) than the patients who stayed for three weeks (64.1 +/- 10.0). At discharge scores were comparable with 77.0 (+/- 7.2) and 79.6 (+/- 7.0), respectively.
Conclusion: An inpatient rehabilitation after hip arthroplasty significantly improves the Harris hip score independent of sex, age, concomitant diseases and weight bearing.