The Journal of arthroplasty
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The Bundled Payment for Care Improvement (BPCI) Initiative is a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services program designed to promote coordinated and efficient care. This study seeks to report costs of readmissions within a 90-day episode of care for BPCI Initiative patients receiving total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA). ⋯ Hospital readmissions after THA and TKA are common and costly. Identifying the causes for readmission and assessing the cost will guide quality improvement efforts.
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The distal femur resection in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is commonly made using a fixed angle relative to an intramedullary rod. This study's purpose was to assess if a variable distal femur resection angle technique improves femoral component alignment in TKA. ⋯ Use of a variable distal femur resection angle improves femoral component alignment after TKA.
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Opioid therapy is an increasingly used modality for treatment of musculoskeletal pain despite multiple associated risks. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how preoperative opioid use affects early outcomes after total joint arthroplasty. ⋯ Preoperative opioid use should be disclosed as a risk factor for complication to patients and taken into consideration by physicians before initiating opioid management.
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Function is often sacrificed for pain control after total knee arthroplasty. Motor-sparing blocks, including adductor canal block (ACB) and periarticular injection (PAI), have gained interest to address this compromise. Our study evaluates the anatomic feasibility, accuracy, and safety of intraoperative ACB as an adjunct to PAI by analyzing 3 different injection orientations and needle configurations. ⋯ Intraoperative ACB augmentation of PAI appears to be anatomically feasible and safe. There was decreased accuracy and increased risk of vascular puncture using a 3.5-inch spinal needle. A blunt 1.5-inch needle directed toward the distal AC had the highest accuracy while minimizing vascular injury.
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Bundled payments are gaining popularity in arthroplasty as a tactic for encouraging providers and hospitals to work together to reduce costs. However, this payment model could potentially motivate providers to avoid unprofitable patients, limiting their access to care. Rigorous risk adjustment can prevent this adverse effect, but most current bundling models use limited, if any, risk-adjustment techniques. This study aims to identify and quantify the financial incentives that are likely to develop with total hip arthroplasty (THA) bundled payments that are not accompanied by comprehensive risk stratification. ⋯ If generalizable, our results suggest that Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services bundled payments encompassing acute inpatient care should be adjusted upward by the aforementioned amounts (regression coefficients above) for advanced age, increasing BMI, cases performed for fractures, elevated ASA grade, and major complications (as defined by Medicare MCC modifiers). Furthermore, these figures likely underestimate costs in many bundling models which incorporate larger proportions of postdischarge care. Failure to adjust for factors affecting costs may create barriers to care for specific patient populations.