title: The effects of American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status on length of stay and inpatient cost in the surgical treatment of isolated orthopaedic fractures.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To identify the impact of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status on postoperative length of stay (LOS) and to document the cost due to LOS after surgical management of the 8 most common lower extremity and 2 most common upper extremity isolated orthopaedic fractures.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective chart review.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients who presented and underwent one of the 10 selected isolated orthopaedic surgical procedures at a large tertiary care center between January 1, 2000, and December 31, 2010.
  
  
  METHODS
  Charts for patients undergoing the 10 selected isolated orthopaedic surgical fracture procedures more than 10 years were reviewed. Thirteen thousand seven hundred seventy-six distinct operations were identified. One thousand three hundred ninety-eight distinct operations were included in analysis after selection.
  
  
  METHODS
  This was an observational study. Patients who received operative management for isolated orthopaedic fractures were identified utilizing a CPT code search for analysis in a retrospective chart review.
  
  
  METHODS
  LOS and cost secondary to LOS.
  
  
  RESULTS
  ASA physical status proved the strongest predictor of postoperative LOS for the 8 most common lower extremity and 2 most common upper extremity isolated orthopaedic procedures. ASA was also a significant predictor of inpatient cost for all isolated orthopaedic procedures included in the study with the exception of CPT code 27536.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ASA classification is an indicator for variance in LOS and total inpatient cost for hospitalized patients. Given that ASA classification is a universally collected data point, this method can be used in almost any hospital system and for any operative service. In addition, this study provides a foundation for many other studies to be conducted which will include multiple institutions and fracture types, such that ASA can be used as a more generalizable predictor of LOS and inpatient cost in orthopaedic trauma patients. This model may be used to accurately predict a patient's postoperative course and the expected cost to the health care system of a given procedure.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prognostic Level IV. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Vanderbilt Orthopaedic Institute Center for Health Policy, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN.
authors.forename: Harrison F
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Kay
authors.forename: Vasanth
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sathiyakumar
authors.forename: Zachary T
authors.initials: ZT
authors.lastname: Yoneda
authors.forename: Young M
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: A Alex
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Jahangir
authors.forename: Jesse M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Ehrenfeld
authors.forename: William T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: Obremskey
authors.forename: Jordan C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Apfeld
authors.forename: Manish K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Sethi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*; D006304:Health Status; D017721:Hospital Costs; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000191:economics*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult