Surgical site infection is a common complication following total hip and total knee arthroplasties, leading to readmissions and extra costs. Researchers explored rates and costs of SSI readmission among approximately 76,000 patients who had one of the procedures in 2007 in an article in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.
- Of the patients whose data were analyzed, 1.3 percent patients were hospitalized for a SSI within one year of surgery.
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- 30.2 percent of patients readmitted for an SSI, or more than 300 of the original study population, were readmitted again for SSI complications within a year after surgery.
- 517 study subjects experienced an "all-cause" readmission in the year after being readmitted for a SSI.
- The average cost of SSI readmission was $20,001. The average length of stay was 7.4 days.
- The average cost of an "all-cause" readmission was $19,870. The average length of stay was 6.4 days
- In total, readmissions in the year after a SSI diagnosis included 1,072 hospital admissions and cost more than $25.5 million.
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