Length of stay and inpatient charges of total knee arthroplasty in China: analysis of a national database / 中华医学杂志(英文版)

BACKGROUND@#There are limited data on the resource utilization of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in China. This study aimed to examine the length of stay (LOS) and inpatient charges of TKA in China, and to investigate their determinants.@*METHODS@#We included patients undergoing primary TKA in the Hospital Quality Monitoring System in China between 2013 and 2019. LOS and inpatient charges were obtained, and their associated factors were further assessed using multivariable linear regression.@*RESULTS@#A total of 184,363 TKAs were included. The LOS decreased from 10.8 days in 2013 to 9.3 days in 2019. The admission-to-surgery interval decreased from 4.6 to 4.2 days. The mean inpatient charges were 61,208.3 Chinese Yuan. Inpatient charges reached a peak in 2016, after which a gradual decrease was observed. Implant and material charges accounted for a dominating percentage, but they exhibited a downward trend, whereas labor-related charges gradually increased. Single marital status, non-osteoarthritis indication, and comorbidity were associated with longer LOS and higher inpatient charges. Female sex and younger age were associated with higher inpatient charges. There were apparent varieties of LOS and inpatient charges among provincial or non-provincial hospitals, hospitals with various TKA volume, or in different geographic regions.@*CONCLUSIONS@#The LOS following TKA in China appeared to be long, but it was shortened during the time period of 2013 to 2019. The inpatient charges dominated by implant and material charges exhibited a downward trend. However, there were apparent sociodemographic and hospital-related discrepancies of resource utilization. The observed statistics can lead to more efficient resource utilization of TKA in China.

In-hospital mortality and related risk factors after knee replacement in China: based on national hospital quality monitoring system data / 中华骨科杂志

Objective:To estimate in-hospital mortality after knee replacement (KR) and to assess its trend and risk factors in China.Methods:We included patients undergoing KR in the Hospital Quality Monitoring System in China (2013-2019) to estimate in-hospital mortality after KR and assessed relation of patient's and hospital's characteristics (year of surgery, age, gender, marital status, primary indication, Charlson comorbidity index, geographic location, hospital type, hospital volume of KR, and surgery type) to in-hospital mortality using multivariable Poisson regression.Results:The annual amount of KR has increased from 20 307 in 2013 to 35 757 in 2019, and has maintained an upward trend for 7 years. The mean age of patients having KR increased from 64.9 years in 2013 to 66.6 years in 2019. Of the total 218 923 KRs, 63 deaths (0.29‰) occurred within 30 days before discharging. Older age was associated with higher in-hospital mortality ( P for trend <0.001). Male gender had higher incidence of in-hospital mortality compared with female [relative risk (RR), 2.5; 95% CI: 1.5, 4.1]. Single marital status was associated with higher, albeit non-statistically significant, in-hospital mortality than married patients (RR, 2.1; 95% CI: 0.9, 4.6). Higher Charlson comorbidity index was associated with increased risk of in-hospital mortality ( P for trend <0.001). Risk of in-hospital mortality decreased with more hospital-year knee replacement surgeries ( P for trend <0.001). In-hospital mortality varied by geographic regions, with the lowest mortality in East region (0.16‰), followed by South-West (0.31‰), South-Central (0.31‰), North region (0.33‰), North-West (0.54‰) and North-East (0.59‰). Conclusion:In-hospital mortality after KR in China was relatively low. Older age, male gender, higher Charlson comorbidity index and lower hospital-year knee replacement surgeries were risk factors for in-hospital mortality. The mortality varied greatly according to the geographic location of hospital.