Reduced length of hospital stay after the introduction of a rapid recovery protocol for primary THA procedures: A retrospective cohort study with 1,180 unselected patients

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Rapid recovery protocols after total hip arthroplasty (THA) have been introduced worldwide in the last few years and they have reduced the length of hospital stay. We show the results of the introduction of a rapid recovery protocol for primary THA for unselected patients in our large teaching hospital. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In a retrospective cohort study, we included all 1,180 patients who underwent a primary THA between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2012. These patients were divided into 3 groups: patients operated before, during, and after the introduction of the rapid recovery protocol. There were no exclusion criteria. All complications, re-admissions, and reoperations were registered and analyzed. RESULTS: The mean length of hospital stay decreased from 4.6 to 2.9 nights after the introduction of the rapid recovery protocol. There were no statistically significant differences in the rate of complications, re-admissions, or reoperations between the 3 groups. INTERPRETATION: In a large teaching hospital, the length of hospital stay decreased after introduction of our protocol for rapid recovery after THA in unselected patients, without any increase in complications, re-admissions, or reoperation rate.