ABSTRACT
Introduction: This study aimed to identify demographic, clinical, and operative factors associated with increased postoperative compliance of patient-reported outcome (PRO) assessments following lumbar spine surgery. Methods: A retrospective study of prospectively collected data of 1,680 consecutive adult patients who underwent elective lumbar surgery at a single institution from 2017-2020. Digital assessment questionnaires were used to assess PROs (i.e., VAS-back, VAS-leg, Oswestry Disability Index, Short Form (SF-12) mental & physical health, VR-12 mental and physical, and VR6D scores) and patient compliance, defined as the percentage of questionnaires completed preoperatively, at 3 months and 1 year after surgery. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess the association between PRO compliance and patient characteristics. Results: A total of 1,680 patients (53.1% male, mean age: 57.7 years) had a mean PRO compliance of 64.7%. Compliance decreased continuously from initial preoperative rates (84.5%) to lower rates at 3 months (54.4%) and 12 months (45.6%), respectively, with 33.2% of patients completing zero assessment questionnaires at 12 months, postoperatively. Factors associated with significantly increased PRO compliance included being employed (preop: odds ratio [OR]=2.58, p=0.002; 3-month postop: OR=1.25, p=0.095; 12-month postop: OR=1.34, p=0.028). Factors associated with decreased compliance included preoperative smoking status (3-month postop: OR=0.63, p=0.029; 12-month postop: OR=0.60, p=0.016). Conclusions: Patients who completed greater than 50% of their PROs demonstrated significantly different rates of being employed compared with those who completed less than 50% throughout 1 year of follow-up. Preoperative smoking status was associated with decreased compliance, whereas a history of employment was associated with increased compliance throughout follow-up. To validate our findings and explore additional parameters that affect postoperative compliance of PROs, further investigation is required.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Home health services are utilized in order to provide at-home care following total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The purpose of this study is to determine whether patients receiving home health services post-operatively had lower rates of complications, emergency room visits, and readmissions as well as to determine if home health provided value by reducing total episode-of-care costs. METHODS: The PearlDiver database was retrospectively reviewed to identify all primary TKA patients over 65 years old from 2010 to 2018. Patients who received home health services were matched using a propensity score algorithm to a set of similar patients who were discharged home under self-care. We compared complication rates, emergency room visits, readmissions, and 90-day episode-of-care claims costs between the groups. Multivariate regression analysis was performed to determine the independent effect of home health services on emergency department (ED) visits and hospital readmissions. RESULTS: Of the 185,444 TKA patients discharged home, 15,849 (8.5%) received home health services. Patients who received home health services had higher rates of ED visits at 2 weeks (3.3% vs 2.8%, P = .014) and 3 months (7.1% vs 6.5%, P = .038) as well as increased readmissions at 2 weeks (0.9% vs 0.7%, P = .028); complication rates were similar between groups (11.4% vs 10.9%, P = .159). Episode-of-care costs for home health patients were higher than those discharged under self-care ($24,266 vs $22,539, P < .001). CONCLUSION: Home health services do not appear to provide value as they are associated with significantly increased costs and do not lower the rates of complications, ED visits, or readmissions following TKA.
