Patient, hospital, and procedure characteristics influencing total hip and knee arthroplasty procedure duration.

Procedure duration is a potential risk factor for total hip arthroplasty (THA) and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) complications. Presently, limited information regarding THA and TKA procedure duration in the United States is available. Patient, hospital, and procedure characteristics that influence procedure duration were determined using Medicare claims data (1997-2004). The median procedure duration decreased from 171.0 to 142.5 minutes for THA and 160.5 to 138.0 minutes for TKA between 1997 and 2004. The median procedure duration decreased as hospital and surgeon volume for both primary THA and TKA increased. Younger patients, males, patients not diagnosed with OA, and patients with more comorbidities generally underwent longer THA and TKA procedures. Larger hospitals (> or =500 beds) were associated with longer THA and TKA procedures, and nonprofit hospitals were associated with shorter procedures. This analysis provides baseline data for future investigation of the influence of procedure duration on total joint arthroplasty outcomes from a national perspective.