Predictors of Successful Early Discharge for Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty in Octogenarians

Background: Decreased length of stay after total joint arthroplasty (TJA) is becoming a more common way to contain healthcare costs and increase patient satisfaction. There is little evidence to support “early” discharge in elderly patients. Purpose: We sought to identify preoperative factors that correlated with early discharge (by postoperative day [POD] 1) in comparison to late discharge (after POD2) in octogenarians after TJA. Methods: In a retrospective cohort study from a single institution, we identified 482 patients ages 80 to 89 who underwent primary TJA from January 2014 to December 2017; 319 had total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and 163 had total hip arthroplasty (THA). Data collected included preoperative knee range of motion (ROM), demographics, and comorbidities; 90-day readmission and mortality rates were also evaluated. P values for continuous data were calculated using student’s t test and for categorical data using χ2 testing. Results: Of octogenarian patients, 30.9% were discharged by POD1. Early discharge was associated with being male, married, and nonsmoking, as well as having an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score of 2, independent preoperative ambulation, and a postoperative caregiver. Type of procedure (TKA vs THA), body mass index, laterality, preoperative range of motion (ROM) for TKA, and single vs multilevel home did not affect the probability of early discharge. Discharge on POD1 was not associated with increased 90-day readmission rates. There were no deaths. Conclusion: Early discharge for octogenarians can be successfully implemented in a select subset of patients without increasing 90-day readmission or death rates. There are multiple factors that predict successful early discharge.