Fast track protocol for primary total hip arthroplasty in non-trauma cases reduces the length of hospital stay: Prospective French multicenter study

Abstract

Background: Fast-track (FT) procedures continue to evolve; however, their benefits are still controversial. This led us to conduct a prospective study of FT procedures for total hip arthroplasty (THA) on a national scale in France with historical control data. The aims were to (1) evaluate the effectiveness of FT procedures after THA on the length of hospital stay (LOS) in a multicenter analysis, (2) measure the immediate return to home, rehospitalization and reoperation rates.

Hypothesis: FT procedures reduce the LOS after primary THA for non-traumatic indications relative to national historical data.

Methods: A prospective observational study was done at 11 hospital facilities throughout France. Patients who underwent primary THA for a non-traumatic condition and FT procedures were followed for 3 months. The average LOS, discharge to home, unexpected readmissions, and reoperation rate were compared to 2016 figures from the French national database of 104,745 procedures on the same population.

Results: The study included 1,110 patients, 499 men (45%) and 611 women (55%), with a mean age of 67.5±11.9 years. The average LOS was 3.3±2.9 days versus 7.5±5.3 days in the national database (p<0.001). Eight hundred eighty patients (79%) were discharged directly to home versus 72,577 (69%) in the national database (p<0.001). Forty-two patients (4%) were readmitted to the hospital within 90 days of the THA versus 11,092 (11%) in the national database (p<0.001). Eighteen patients (1.6%) were reoperated within 90 days of the THA procedure versus 2100 (2.0%) in the national database (p=0.72).

Discussion: FT procedures help to significantly reduce the average LOS and rehospitalization rate after primary THA for non-traumatic conditions and significantly increased the percentage of patients being discharged directly to home relative to national historical data, without altering the risk of reoperation. FT procedures should become the standard of care after THA.

Level of evidence: III; prospective case-control study.

Keywords: Enhanced rehabilitation; Fast-track procedures; Total hip arthroplasty.