Jennie McKee
A study presented yesterday by Jacob M. Drew, MD, suggests that a significant shift is occurring toward younger patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA). In fact, between 2000 and 2009, the number of patients ages 45 years to 64 years who underwent THA increased by 123 percent.
“The trend of increasing incidence of THA, particularly among younger patients, should be studied and understood to guide consensus strategy and maximize efficiency of resources related to THA,” stated Dr. Drew.
In this study, researchers from the University of Massachusetts Medical School addressed how population size affected the overall increase in THA, the secondary effects of a shift to a younger patient population, and the impact on revision burden.
Assessing the data
Dr. Drew and his fellow investigators performed this retrospective review by analyzing data from 2000 to 2009 as recorded in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, part of the family of software tools and databases developed for the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. The researchers identified all patients who had undergone THA or revision THA.
Using national weighted estimates and standard statistical analyses, Dr. Drew and his colleagues assessed the following patient factors for each year, stratified by age: procedural rates; gender; race; payer; length of stay (LOS); discharge disposition; revision burden.
Then, they used data from the U.S. National Census and Intercensus Estimates to calculate the rate of each procedure per 100,000 members of the U.S. population in each age group per year.
