Delayed discharge after total hip arthroplasty is associated with an increased risk of complications

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of discharge timing on 30-day complication rates following total hip arthroplasty. METHODS: We identified patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty between 2011 and 2017 from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database. Using propensity score matching, we matched patients who were discharged from the hospital on the day of surgery to those discharged on postoperative days 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. We used multivariable logistic regression to determine if the rates of complications and readmission differed depending on length of stay. RESULTS: We identified 141 594 patients who underwent total hip arthroplasty (average age 64.7 [standard deviation (SD) 11.4] yr) from the NSQIP database. The average length of stay was 2.3 days and decreased from 2.8 (SD 0.7) days in 2011 to 1.9 (0.9) days in 2017. The adjusted odds of a major complication increased by 1.33 (1.09–1.61) and 1.41 (1.05–2.21) for patients discharged on postoperative day 3 and 4, respectively, compared with patients discharged on postoperative day 2. Similarly, the adjusted odds of a minor complication increased by 1.22 (1.03–1.43) and 1.58 (1.11–2.26) for patients discharged on postoperative days 3 and 4, respectively, compared with those discharged on postoperative day 2. We found no difference in the risk of major or minor complications between patients discharged on the day of surgery or postoperative day 1 compared with patients discharged on postoperative day 2. We also found that a length of stay of 3 or 4 days increased the risk of readmission (odds ratio [OR] 1.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03–1.29, and OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.08–1.85, respectively) compared with a length of stay of 2 days. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that discharge on postoperative days 0–2 is associated with the lowest risk of 30-day complications following total hip arthroplasty. These findings support early discharge after total hip arthroplasty; however, more prospective clinical data are required to determine the optimal length of stay following total hip arthroplasty.