Economic Burden of Obesity in Primary Total Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To compare the hospital inpatient costs between nonobese and obese patients and estimate the economic burden of obesity in primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA). METHODS: A cost identification study was conducted in a consecutive cohort of 530 patients who underwent TKA between 2006 and 2007 at a university-affiliated tertiary referral center in Melbourne, Australia. Total hospital inpatient costs incurred at the study institution associated with the index surgery and subsequent related emergency presentations and readmissions during the episode of care were captured. Predictor variables of interest were obesity and body mass index (BMI), and the outcomes of interest were total ho..