Usefulness of a national hospital database to evaluate the burden of primary joint replacement for coxarthrosis and gonarthrosis in patients aged over 40 years.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the 2001 French burden of hospital primary joint replacement (PJR) for coxarthrosis and gonarthrosis.

METHODS: Hospital surgical admissions for coxarthrosis and gonarthrosis in people aged over 40 years were selected from the French National Hospital Database. Of the 73,150 and 58,746 admissions for coxarthrosis and gonarthrosis, respectively, only 96 and 73% of them were analysed (exclusion of stays with no respect of coding guidelines). For each, we described the type of osteoarthritis, gender and age group distribution, incidence rate of PJR adjusted on age and gender, the type of joint replacement (total vs partial), the type of hospital (private vs hospital), the mean length of stay (LOS), the percentage of patients transferred to rehabilitation centre and the hospital costs.

RESULTS: Whatever the type of osteoarthritis, PJR was mainly performed for primary osteoarthritis, in the 71-80 years' age group, in private hospital, with a total replacement procedure. The mean LOS were 13 and 12 days, and the transfers to a rehabilitation centre were 33 and 44%, for hip and knee, respectively. The incident rate of PJR increased significantly with age. It was higher in the 71-80 years' age group and decreased thereafter, whatever the gender and the type of osteoarthritis. The whole hospital costs were 591 and 411 millions of euros for hip and knee, respectively.

CONCLUSION: The French National Hospital Database is a useful tool for assessing the burden of primary PJR for coxarthrosis and gonarthrosis. It might be used for international comparisons.