Prospective study of unplanned admission to the intensive care unit after total hip arthroplasty.

The morbidity associated with elective total hip arthroplasty (THA) may result in intensive care unit (ICU) admission. A total of 175 consecutive THA patients were prospectively triaged to either an ICU bed or routine post-operative floor according to admission criteria based on a prior published study of 1259 THA patients. Primary end points were a reduction in unplanned ICU admission, as well as major complications. With our triage model, the rate of unplanned ICU admissions dropped from 7.1% to 2.2% (P=0.013). The as-treated odds of unplanned admission pre- versus post-intervention were 3.2 (1.2, 10.6). The complication rate fell from 12.5% to 2%, and the mortality index decreased from 4.77 to 1.62. Triage according to selected risk factors affects a reduction in unplanned ICU admissions and major complications after THA.