Table 2.
Mean health care consumption and work absenteeism by treatment group
| All (N = 390) | Operative (N = 245) | Nonoperative (N = 145) | P value | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N* | N* | N* | ||||||
| Health care consumption - primary stay | ||||||||
| Ambulance transport | Rides | 390 | 1 (0–1) | 245 | 1 (1–1) | 145 | 1 (1–1) | 1.000 |
| Emergency department | Visits | 390 | 1 (1–1) | 245 | 1 (1–1) | 145 | 1 (1–1) | 1.000 |
| Medical imaging | Units | 390 | 2 (2-4) | 245 | 4 (2-4) | 145 | 22 (2-2) | < 0.001 |
| Initial treatment | ||||||||
| Operation time (including anesthesia) | Minutes | 194 | 120 (96–152) | 194 | 120 (96–152) | N.A | N.A | N.A |
| Operation time (in theater) | Minutes | 224 | 81 (65–112) | 224 | 81 (65–112) | N.A | N.A | N.A |
| Immobilization | Units | 390 | 1 (1–1) | 244 | 1 (1–1) | 145 | 1 (1–2) | 1.000 |
| Admission and follow-up characteristics | ||||||||
| Hospital | Admission | 390 | 271 (69.5%) | 245 | 245 (100.0%) | 145 | 26 (17.9%) | < 0.001 |
| LOS (days) | 271 | 2 (2–4) | 245 | 2 (2–4) | 26 | 2 (2–3) | 0.830 | |
| Health care consumption - follow-up | ||||||||
| Medical imaging | Units | 390 | 11 (8–14) | 245 | 10 (8–12) | 145 | 12 (10–15) | < 0.001 |
| Immobilization | Units | 390 | 0 (0–0) | 245 | 0 (0–0) | 145 | 0 (0–0) | < 0.001 |
| Outpatient clinic | Visits | 390 | 5 (3–6) | 390 | 4 (3–6) | 390 | 5 (4–7) | < 0.001 |
| General practitioner | Visits | 318 | 0 (0–1) | 201 | 0 (0–1) | 117 | 0 (0–1) | 0.341 |
| Emergency department | Visits | 318 | 0 (0–0) | 201 | 0 (0–0) | 117 | 0 (0–0) | 0.970 |
| Adverse events | ||||||||
| Any surgical reintervention | Number | 390 | 67 (17.2%) | 245 | 30 (12.2%) | 145 | 37 (25.5%) | 0.001 |
| Operation time (including anesthesia) | Minutes | 56 | 86 (43–130) | 23 | 50 (27–99) | 33 | 93 (69–153) | 0.103 |
| Operation time (in theater) | Minutes | 64 | 118 (77–172) | 27 | 86 (52–162) | 37 | 125 (102–192) | 0.311 |
| Hospital admission | LOS (days) | 46 | 1 (1–3) | 12 | 2 (1–4) | 34 | 1 (1–3) | 0.988 |
| Discharge disposition resulting in changes in living situation | ||||||||
| Nursing home | LOS (days) | 1 | 30 (30–30) | 1 | 30 (30–30) | 0 | N.A | N.A |
| Care hotel | LOS (days) | 7 | 10 (5–30) | 4 | 8 (5–25) | 3 | 21 (3–21) | 0.721 |
| Elderly care facility | LOS (days) | 4 | 35 (23–84) | 1 | 21 (21–21) | 3 | 42 (28–42) | 0.180 |
| Rehabilitation clinic | LOS (days) | 3 | 25 (24–25) | 3 | 25 (24–25) | 0 | N.A | N.A |
| Health care consumption related to rehabilitation | ||||||||
| Physical therapy | Number of sessions | 343 | 22 (10–45) | 217 | 25 (12–48) | 125 | 20 (10–40) | 0.392 |
| Home care | Hours | 318 | 0 (0–0) | 201 | 0 (0–0) | 117 | 0 (0–0) | 0.506 |
| Other rehabilitation therapy | Number of sessions | 318 | 0 (0–0) | 201 | 0 (0–0) | 117 | 0 (0–0) | 0.084 |
| Work | ||||||||
| Work absence | % of employed patients | 196 | 179 (91.3%) | 134 | 123 (91.8%) | 62 | 56 (90.3%) | 0.787 |
| Work days missed | Days | 196 | 30 (13-54) | 134 | 26 (12-49) | 62 | 33 (15-59) | 0.253 |
P values < 0.05 are shown in boldface
Data are presented as N (%) or median (P25–P75)
N* represents the number of patients for whom data were available per follow-up moment
LOS, Length of Stay