How efficient is patient discharge following lower limb arthroplasty?

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic surgery outcomes
• Healthcare management and efficiency
• Patient recovery monitoring

Background:

• Timely patient discharge is crucial for optimal care and hospital efficiency.
• The Post-operative Morbidity Survey (POMS) is a validated tool for measuring short-term post-operative morbidity.
• POMS has not been previously utilized as a tool for hospital bed utilization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the utility of the Post-operative Morbidity Survey (POMS) as a prospective bed utilization tool.
• To identify patients remaining in the hospital without significant morbidity after lower limb arthroplasty.
• To determine the reasons for prolonged hospital stay in patients undergoing lower limb arthroplasty.

Main Methods:

• Collected POMS data from 529 lower limb arthroplasty patients over one year.
• Recorded patients in hospital without morbidity on post-operative days (POD) 3, 5, 8, and 15.
• Documented alternative reasons for continued hospitalization.

Main Results:

• On POD 3, 45-52% of hip and knee arthroplasty patients had no identifiable morbidity.
• On POD 5, 47-53% of hip and knee arthroplasty patients remained hospitalized without morbidity.
• Ongoing physiotherapy and occupational therapy were the most common reasons for inappropriate bed occupancy.

Conclusions:

• POMS effectively identifies patients with no significant morbidity suitable for discharge, serving as a valuable bed utilization tool.
• Incorporating a mobility measure into POMS could enhance its ability to detect morbidity necessitating hospitalization post-arthroplasty.
• This study highlights the potential of POMS to optimize hospital resource management and patient flow.