Fact checked byKristen Dowd

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February 06, 2024
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Study: Enhanced recovery protocols alleviate concerns for outpatient bilateral TKA

Fact checked byKristen Dowd
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Key takeaways:

  • An enhanced recovery protocol for outpatient bilateral TKA yielded promising results vs. conventional recovery.
  • Enhanced recovery protocols may alleviate surgeon and patient concerns for outpatient surgery.
Perspective from Thomas P. Sculco, MD

According to results published in The Journal of Arthroplasty, patients who received an enhanced recovery protocol had safe same-day discharge and improved functional outcomes after outpatient simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty.

Researchers performed a retrospective study of data from 100 patients who underwent outpatient simultaneous bilateral TKA with an enhanced recovery protocol and 100 propensity-matched patients who underwent inpatient simultaneous bilateral TKA with a conventional recovery protocol.

Knee surgery
An enhanced recovery protocol for outpatient bilateral TKA yielded promising results. Image: Adobe Stock

According to the study, outcome measures were collected for 1 year and included complications readmissions, VAS pain scores, range of motion (ROM) and Knee Society Score (KSS).

Researchers found patients in the outpatient enhanced recovery cohort had a complication rate of 4% and a 90-day readmission rate of 2%, whereas patients in the inpatient conventional recovery cohort had a complication rate of 7% and a 90-day readmission rate of 3%.

They found VAS pain scores were “significantly lower” in the outpatient enhanced recovery cohort for 2 weeks after surgery (P < .001). They also found ROM and KSS were “significantly better” in the enhanced recovery cohort at 2 weeks after surgery (P < .001); however, these outcomes as well as VAS were comparable between the groups after 1 month postoperatively.

“The promising results of our study and similar future studies can alleviate surgeon and patient concerns about outpatient simultaneous bilateral TKA,” the researchers wrote in the study.