Is an “outpatient Arthroplasty Risk Assessment Score” Needed for Predicting Safe Selection of Outpatient Arthroplasty Candidates?

BACKGROUND:Total joint arthroplasty is rapidly shifting to the outpatient space. One of the challenges of same-day discharge adoption has been determining which patients are suitable candidates. Risk assessment tools have been developed, including the Outpatient Arthroplasty Risk Assessment (OARA) score. The purpose of this study was to assess its predictive utility.METHODS:A retrospective review was performed on all total joint arthroplasties performed at a single ambulatory surgery center in 2018, yielding a cohort of 1,105 patients (1,332 arthroplasties). The institution's outpatient criteria required optimization of all medical conditions; if the patient had no failing organ, they were candidates for same-day discharge. OARA scores were calculated based on preoperative histories and physical examinations. Analyses were performed on the statistical utility of the OARA score in predicting successful same-day discharge. The mean age was 59 years (range, 27-82), the mean body mass index was 33.3 kg/m2 (range, 16-66), and 51.5% were women. A total of 45% of patients had one or more major comorbidity.RESULTS:There were 81.6% of patients who had an acceptable OARA score (<60). In addition, 97% of patients who had an "unacceptable" OARA score were successfully discharged the same day. There were 23 patients who required inpatient observation; of these, 7 (30.4%) had an OARA score ≥60.CONCLUSION:The OARA score was accurate in predicting patients who successfully had same-day discharge but poor at predicting who would not. This system is time consuming and may be too restrictive on which patients are candidates for outpatient arthroplasty. Surgeons may consider a more simplified criteria for outpatient arthroplasty.