Predicting short stay total hip arthroplasty by use of the timed up and go-test

BACKGROUND: One of the most important steps before implementing short stay total hip arthroplasty (THA) is establishing patient criteria. Most existing criteria are mainly based on medical condition, but as physical functioning is associated with outcome after THA, we aim to evaluate the added value of a measure of physical functioning to predict short-stay THA. METHODS: We used retrospective data of 1559 patients who underwent an anterior THA procedure. Logistic regression analyses were performed to study the predictive value of preoperative variables among which preoperative physical functioning by use of the Timed Up and Go test (TUG) for short stay THA (< 36 h). The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and Youden Index were used to define a cutoff point for TUG associated with short stay THA. RESULTS: TUG was significantly associated with LOS (OR 0.84, 95%CI 0.82–0.87) as analyzed by univariate regression analysis. In multivariate regression, a model with the TUG had a better performance with an AUC of 0.77 (95%CI 0.74–0.79) and a R(2) of 0.27 compared to the basic model (AUC 0.75, 95%CI 0.73–0.77, R(2) 0.24). Patients with a preoperative TUG less than 9.7 s had an OR of 4.01 (95%CI 3.19–5.05) of being discharged within 36 h. CONCLUSIONS: Performance based physical functioning, measured by the TUG, is associated with short stay THA. This knowledge will help in the decision-making process for the planning and expectations in short stay THA protocols with the advantage that the TUG is a simple and fast instrument to be carried out.