A case-control study by Boraiah et al. in the December 2, 2015 JBJS describes a risk-stratification tool that helps predict which patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty (TJA) are likely to be readmitted to the hospital after discharge. The authors used the tool—dubbed the Readmission Risk Assessment Tool, or RRAT—preoperatively among 207 patients who were subsequently readmitted after primary TJA and two cohorts of 234 patients each (one random and one age-matched) who were not.
The total RRAT score for each individual is the cumulative sum of all scores for modifiable risk factors such as infection, smoking, obesity, diabetes, and VTE. Non-modifiable risk factors such as age, sex, race, and socioeconomic status are not included in the scoring system.
The median RRAT score for those readmitted was 3; the median RRAT score for those not readmitted was 1. An RRAT score of ≥3 was significantly associated with higher odds of readmission. Surgical site infection was the most common cause of readmission (found in 45% of the 207 readmitted patients).
The authors note that in the current and future climate of value-based health care, “any unplanned readmission will have financial consequences on the provider and health-care institution”—not to mention the burden readmissions place on patients. While admitting that the RRAT needs to be further evaluated and validated in larger cohorts and that it may not be possible to modify individual risk factors into “an acceptable range” prior to TJA, the authors suggest that risk stratification with the RRAT “can present a ‘teachable moment’ and an opportunity for shared decision-making discussions.”