Outcomes after inpatient rehabilitation of primary and revision total hip arthroplasty.

Objective: To compare the outcomes of patients who have gone to inpatient rehabilitation after primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) and revision THA.

Design: Retrospective, comparative study.

Setting: Fifty-bed freestanding, university-affiliated rehabilitation hospital.

Participants: Two hundred fifty-five male and female primary THA patients and 147 male and female revision THA patients.

Intervention: Interdisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation.

Main Outcome Measures: Length of stay (LOS), FIM instrument score and FIM motor score components, hospital charges, and discharge disposition location.

Results: FIM scores improved from admission to discharge by 29.7 and 27.9 points for the primary THA and revision THA groups, respectively (P<.05). LOS was shorter for primary THA patients compared with revision THA patients (10.0d vs 11.5d, P<.05). FIM efficiency (DeltaFIM/LOS) was greater for primary THA compared with revision THA (3.4 and 2.7 points/day, P<.05). Total rehabilitation hospital charges were 11,421 US dollars and 13,707 US dollars for the primary and revision THA groups, respectively, with the mechanical and infection revision THAs incurring the greatest charges (14,596 US dollars and 15,386 US dollars, respectively; P<.001). Compared with primary THA, revision THA patients were twice as likely to be discharged to locations other than home.

Conclusions: FIM score improvement was lower and LOS and hospital charges were greater in revision THA than in primary THA after rehabilitation. Infection revision THA patients gained less functional independence and were discharged home less often than mechanical or pain revision THA patients; finally, infection and mechanical revision THA accrued the highest hospital charges.