Early Ambulation in Hip Replacement Patients Regarding Length of Hospital Stay

Background: Total hip replacement surgeries are one of the most common orthopedic surgeries performed today1. This number continues to rise. One way to accommodate the growing need for inpatient orthopedic beds is through high hospital turnover. High turnover can possibly be accomplished through early ambulation. The goal of the study is to see if standing or walking before eight hours post-operative decreased overall length of hospital stay. Methods: This research study is a retrospective chart review that looked at 92 randomly selected general anesthesia total hip replacement patients from Nebraska Medicine in Omaha, NE from August 2017 to August 2018. This research study makes a clear definition of early ambulation after total hip replacement surgery: standing or walking within eight hours of surgery. Results: From the analyzed research the average length of stay for all 92 total hip replacement patients was 4.23 days. For those total hip replacement patients who were ambulated within eight hours of surgery completion the average length of stay was 2.83 days. For the total hip replacement patients who were ambulated after eight hours of surgery completion the average length of stay was 5.14 days. Conclusion: There is a statistically significant difference in length of hospital stay for total hip replacement patients at Nebraska Medicine who were ambulated within eight hours of surgery completion compared to those who were not.