title: Effectiveness of clinical pathways for total knee and total hip arthroplasty: literature review.
abstract: Although many hospitals have implemented clinical pathways to standardize the process of care, the effectiveness of clinical pathways for total hip and knee arthroplasties has not been reviewed critically. We searched for articles comparing outcomes of total hip or knee arthroplasty for patients who were treated using clinical pathways as opposed to patients treated without these pathways. Eleven studies met criteria for inclusion. Ten used historical controls, and 1 was a randomized trial. The studies had important methodological limitations. In general, the articles showed that patients treated using pathways experienced shorter hospital stays and lower costs, with comparable clinical outcomes as compared with patients treated without clinical pathways. We concluded that clinical pathways appear successful in reducing costs and length of stay in the acute care hospital, with no compromise in patient outcomes. However, interpretation of these studies is complicated by substantial methodological limitations, particularly the use of historical controls and failure to account for length of stay in rehabilitation facilities.
authors.affiliation: Robert B Brigham Multipurpose Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases Center, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Losina
authors.forename: Daniel H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Jeffrey N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Katz
mesh_terms: D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000191:economics; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000191:economics; D019091:Critical Pathways; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D016896:Treatment Outcome