Length stay, discharge disposition, and hospital charge predictors

THIS STUDY EXPLORED the effect of patient, clinical, and treatment factors on length of stay (LOS), discharge disposition, and total acute care hospital charges for older adults undergoing elective total hip arthroplasty or total knee arthroplasty. A CAUSATIVE RETROSPECTIVE DESIGN was used, and data analysis included descriptive statistics, multiple regression, and logistic regression. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES in predictor variables (ie, age, gender, living arrangement, comorbidities, postoperative complications) were found between patients who were discharged to home and those who were discharged to another facility. Only postoperative complications contributed significantly to LOS. Total surgical time and postoperative complications contributed significantly to hospital charges.