[Evaluation of the impact of the introduction of a functional knee arthroplasty unit].

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of a functional knee arthroplasty unit in Hospital de l'Esperança (Barcelona) on resource consumption, quality indicators and the direct costs of the healthcare process.
Method: We performed a retrospective study based on two cross-sections: the first in 317 patients who underwent surgery in 2004 before the implementation of the functional knee arthroplasty unit and the second in 624 patients who underwent surgery in 2005. Data related to the process, complications and costs were collected.
Results: The mean length of hospital stay decreased by 9 days (p<0.001). The number of patients requiring convalescence after the intervention increased by 9.5% (p<0.001). Overall, the total cost of the healthcare process decreased by 16%, from 9,031.34 to 7,591.54 euro (p<0.001). This cost reduction was due to decreases in the length of hospital stay (2,946.0 vs. 1,616.8 euro), surgery costs (2,156.7 vs. 1,776.7 euro) and prosthesis costs (2,730.5 vs. 2,678.1 euro).
Conclusions: The implementation of the functional knee arthroplasty unit reduced overall costs and length of hospital stay and substantially increased activity while maintaining a similar complication rate.