Revision Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty are Associated with Lower Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems Patient Satisfaction Scores Compared with Primary Arthroplasty

Who: Michael R. Mercier, BA; Anoop R. Galivanche, BS; Neil Pathak, MD; Elbert J. Mets, BA; David A. Molho, MD; Ali H. Elaydi, MD; Jonathan N. Grauer, MD; Lee E. Rubin, MD

Overview: As rates of primary total joint arthroplasty continue to rise, so do rates of revision. Revision total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are more frequently done at larger centers, are associated with higher morbidity, and may have different patient satisfaction outcomes. This study compares the survey results of Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) between patients who underwent primary versus revision THA or TKA.

All adult patients who underwent inpatient, elective, primary, and revision THA or TKA at a single institution were selected for retrospective analysis. Patient demographics, comorbidities, functional status, surgical variables, 30-day outcomes, and HCAHPS scores were assessed. Univariate and multivariate analyses were done to determine correlations between the aforementioned variables and top-box HCAHPS survey scores for primary versus revision THA and TKA.

Of 2,707 patients who met the inclusion criteria and had returned the HCAHPS survey, primary THA was documented in 1,075 patients (39.71%), revision THA in 75 (2.77%), primary TKA in 1,497 (55.30%), and revision TKA in 60 (2.22%). Revision THA patients were more functionally dependent, and TKA patients had higher American Society of Anesthesiologists score than their primary comparators. Revisions had longer hospital length of stay for both procedures. For THA, revision THA patients demonstrated lower total top-box rates compared with primary THA patients (71.64% versus 75.67% top-box, P < 0.001) and lower scores on the care from doctors subsection (76.26% versus 85.34%, P < 0.001) of the HCAHPS survey. Similarly, for TKA, revision TKA patients demonstrated lower total top-box rates (76.13% versus 79.22%, P < 0.013) and lower scores on the care from doctors subsection (66.28% versus 83.65%, P < 0.001) of the HCAHPS survey.

For both THA and TKA, revision procedures were associated with lower total HCAHPS scores and rated care from doctors. This suggests that HCAHPS scores may be biased by factors outside the surgeon's control, such as the complexity associated with revision procedures.