title: The influence of pre-operative factors on the length of in-patient stay following primary total hip replacement for osteoarthritis: a multivariate analysis of 2302 patients.
abstract: We analysed which pre-operative factors could be used to predict the length of in-patient stay following unilateral primary total hip replacement undertaken for osteoarthritis. Data were collected prospectively from 2302 patients undergoing primary total hip replacement over a nine-year period. The relationships between the various pre-operative factors and length of stay were studied separately using either Student's t-test or Pearson's correlation, and then subjected to multiple linear regression analysis. The mean length of stay was 8.1 days (median 7; 3 to 58). After adjusting for the effects of other pre-operative factors, younger age, male gender, higher combined Harris hip function and activity score, higher general health perception dimension of the Short-Form 36 score, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug use were all found to be significantly associated with a reduced length of stay.
authors.affiliation: New Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, 51 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh EH16 4SA, UK. gdall@nhs.net
authors.forename: G F
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Dall
authors.forename: N E
authors.initials: NE
authors.lastname: Ohly
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Ballantyne
authors.forename: I J
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Brenkel