Drug Treatment Comparison for Total Knee Replacement Surgery
Abstract
In this study, we aim to better understand how spinal block, anticoagulant, and antifibrinolytic drug treatments are associated with hospital costs, lengths of stay, prevalence of early readmissions, and prevalence of blood transfusions for total knee replacement patients. Analysis of variance, multiple comparison testing, ordinary least squares regression, and logistic regression were used to identify which combinations of these drug treatments were associated with higher or lower health outcomes. The combination of Lidocaine and Ropivacaine was the spinal block treatment associated with the highest mean hospital cost, length of stay, highest proportion of early readmissions, and required blood transfusions. The combination of Warfarin and Enoxaparin was the anticoagulant treatment associated with the highest mean hospital cost, length of stay, and highest proportion of early readmissions. Patients who received Tranexamic Acid had a significantly shorter length of stay, smaller likelihood of a blood transfusion, and no significant difference in hospital cost.