title: Relationship between surgical volume and early outcomes of total hip arthroplasty: do results continue to get better?
abstract: This retrospective study explored the relationship between the volume of total hip arthroplasties (THA) and postoperative mortality and early complications from a single institution. One thousand hip arthroplasties in 932 patients were identified during a 1-year period, which included 786 primary and 214 revision hip arthroplasties. The postoperative 6-month combined medical and orthopedic complication rate for primary and revision THA was 7.9% and 16.5%, respectively. The 6-month mortality rate for the overall group was 0.5% (5 deaths), for the primary hips was 0.4% (3 deaths), and for the revision hip was 0.9% (2 deaths). The mortality and complication rates of many surgical procedures, including joint arthroplasties, are inversely related to hospital and surgical volume. The reduction in complication rate, however, approaches a plateau and does not improve regardless of an increase in the surgical and hospital volume.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rothman Institute and Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19107, USA.
authors.forename: Peter F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Sharkey
authors.forename: Shani
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shastri
authors.forename: Marco A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Teloken
authors.forename: Javad
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parvizi
authors.forename: William J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Hozack
authors.forename: Richard H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Rothman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000401:mortality*; D002423:Cause of Death; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000401:mortality*; D012086:Reoperation; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome