Inpatient interdisciplinary rehabilitation after total hip arthroplasty surgery: a comparison of revision and primary total hip arthroplasty.

OBJECTIVES

To describe outcomes of revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients who underwent interdisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation, and to compare them with primary THA patients.

DESIGN

Descriptive and case-control study.

SETTING

Forty-bed, community-based, freestanding rehabilitation hospital.

PATIENTS

Thirty-nine revision THA subjects, gender- and age-matched with 39 primary THA controls.

INTERVENTION

Inpatient interdisciplinary rehabilitation.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

FIM instrument, length of stay, hospital charges, and disposition location.

RESULTS

The average revision THA patient stayed 10.5 days, improved from an admission FIM score of 89 to a discharge FIM score of 110, and incurred a hospital charge of $10,600. Of the revision THA patients, 98% were discharged home, and orthopedic-related complications were uncommon. No significant differences existed between revision and primary THA patients in any outcome measures. A trend toward higher rehabilitation charges ($12,400 vs $9500, p =.07) was found in revision THA patients who wore a hip orthosis. Otherwise, no differences were found in outcome measures based on the type of revision surgery, the presence of weight-bearing restrictions, or the presence of orthopedic complications.

CONCLUSIONS

THA patients selected for inpatient rehabilitation have favorable short-term functional outcomes. The type of THA (primary vs revision) is not an independent differentiating factor.