Investigating Short-term Outcomes and Healthcare Utilization After Traditional Versus Computer-assisted Total Knee Arthroplasty

The purpose of this study was to compare the incidence of various short-term complications and healthcare utilization between traditional and computer-assisted total knee arthroplasty (CA-TKA). Traditional TKA and CA-TKA cases were extracted from the American College of Surgeons’ National Surgical Quality Improvement Program. Patients were matched using patient and demographic variables. Outcomes were compared between the two patient groups after exact matching. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify independent risk factors for various outcome measures. The authors identified 159,521 patients that underwent traditional TKA and 3,464 patients that underwent CA-TKA. After matching, CA-TKA patients were more likely to have a nonhome discharge and a hospital length of stay greater than 2 days. Other outcome measures— readmission, reoperation, mortality, and surgical/medical complications—were comparable between groups. Patients undergoing computer-assisted TKA were more likely to have a nonhome discharge and a hospital length of stay greater than 2 days. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 34(3):156-160, 2025)

Key words: computer-assisted total knee arthroplasty (CA-TKA), short-term outcomes, healthcare utilization, ACS NSQIP