Article

PURPOSE : To examine the effects of anemia on inpatient rehabilitation outcomes
following unilateral and bilateral total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHOD: This was a multicenter, retrospective study from 15 inpatient rehabilitation
facilities. Patients (N = 5421) with very low hematocrit (Hct <30%), low Hct
(30-36% women, 30-41% men), or normal Hct (>36% women, 41% men) were included.
Inpatient rehabilitation occurred following TKA. Functional independence measure
(FIM) scores, length of stay (LOS), itemized hospital charges, discharge
destination were main outcomes. RESULTS: LOS was 13% longer and hospital charges
were 12.5-18.0% higher in the very low Hct than remaining groups (p = 0.0001).
The FIM score and subscores for walking, stair climbing, bathing, transfers, and
dressing changes were comparable for all Hct groups for the overall score. Hct
<30% did not correspond to worse outcomes in patients with bilateral surgeries
compared with unilateral surgeries; total FIM scores improved 47-53% across all
Hct groups, regardless of bilateral surgical status. Discharge to home ranged
92.6-94.7% across all Hct groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Rehabilitation teams
can expect comparable functional improvements and discharge to home in anemic and
non-anemic patients with either unilateral or bilateral surgeries without
hematologic correction in the rehabilitation setting, but might need an additional day to accomplish these outcomes.

Langue : ANGLAIS