Publications by authors named "Daniel K Witmer"
Background: Currently, few investigations explore the connection between global mental health and recovery following total hip arthroplasty (THA). The increased utilization of patient-reported outcomes tools provides an opportunity to assess a patient's mental health without undue survey burden. The purpose of this study was to explore how mental health is associated with a patient's immediate in-hospital recovery regardless of a formally diagnosed mental illness.
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- The study investigates how a patient's mental health, measured by the PROMIS-10 Mental Health T-score (MHT), affects recovery after total hip arthroplasty (THA).
- It categorizes patients without a formal mental illness diagnosis into three groups based on their MHT scores and assesses postoperative outcomes like pain, opioid use, and satisfaction.
- Results reveal that lower MHT scores (< 40) are linked to worse outcomes, indicating that the MHT could serve as a valuable preoperative screening tool for identifying patients at greater risk for complications.
Introduction: Mental illnesses are well-known factors that contribute to poor outcomes among total hip arthroplasty (THA) patients. However, a dichotomized mental illness diagnosis may not reflect the complex biopsychosocial factors contributing to a patient's health. Investigating patients who achieve positive outcomes despite having risk factors, known as positive deviants, may help identify protective characteristics and decrease health disparities among this growing population of patients.
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