The Risk Assessment and Prediction Tool Is Less Accurate in Extended Length of Stay Patients Following Total Joint Arthroplasty

Background: Although preoperative risk assessment tools have been effective in predicting discharge disposition after total joint arthroplasty (TJA), studies reporting on discharge planning in extended length of stay (ELOS), >3 days, patients are lacking. The purpose of this study was to describe the predictive utility of the Risk Assessment and Prediction Tool (RAPT) for discharge disposition in ELOS patients. Methods: Our study included 260 patients with LOS >3 days who underwent primary TJA between 2014 and 2016. Patients were separated into 3 cohorts, based on their RAPT score: low risk (9-12), medium risk (6-9), and high risk for discharge to a facility (1-6). Scores were compared among cohorts and correlated with discharge disposition for patients who stayed beyond 3 days. Results: In ELOS, RAPT had a higher utility in predicting discharge disposition in the low-risk (76.5% to home) and high-risk (62.9% to facility) patient cohorts, while medium-risk patients (56.5% to home) were the least accurate. Responses that significantly correlated with discharge home included male gender (odds ratio [OR], 1.81; P < .05), ambulation without walking aids (OR, 2.94; P < .01) or a single-point cane (OR, 2.95; P < .0001), <1 community support visit per week preoperatively (OR, 1.86; P < .05), and having support from someone at home (OR, 3.43; P < .0001). Conclusion: The RAPT score in ELOS patients is better correlated with the low-risk and high-risk cohorts than in medium-risk patients. Conversely, medium-risk ELOS patients constituted 56.8% of our sample size, but only predicted 56.5% of discharge dispositions correctly. Future discharge disposition risk assessment tools are needed to stratify medium-risk patients. (C) 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.