Key result
General anesthesia for primary total hip arthroplasty resulted in similar 30-day mortality compared to regional anesthesia (0.94% vs 0.57%, p=0.54), but higher prosthesis failure and ICU admission.
Why the study?
The study was conducted to compare the effects of general and regional anesthesia on clinical outcomes following primary total hip arthroplasty.
Does general anesthesia compared to regional anesthesia improve mortality and complication rates in patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty?
Cohort (n=1,522)
Yes
Does general anesthesia compared to regional anesthesia improve mortality and complication rates in patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty?
Absolute Event Rate: 0.94% vs 0.57%
p-value: p=0.54
In patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty, general and regional anesthesia result in comparable mortality, but general anesthesia is associated with higher costs, ICU admissions, and prosthesis failure.
Mortality equivalence does not warrant changing anesthesia choice in hip arthroplasty; leaves open whether general anesthesia increases prosthesis failure and ICU admission.
Objectives To compare the effects of general and regional anesthesia on clinical outcomes following primary total hip arthroplasty (THA). Methods This retrospective study using data from the Korean National Health Insurance Research Database included 1,522 patients who underwent THA under general anesthesia (n = 640) or regional anesthesia (n = 882) between 2002 and 2015. We compared the mortality and complication rates within 30 days after surgery. Results Prosthesis failure (1.56% vs. 0.45%, p = 0.025), admission to the intensive care unit (9.53 vs. 5.44%, p = 0.0023), and total cost (₩7,332,515 vs. ₩6,833,295, p < 0.0001) were higher in the general anesthesia group than in the regional anesthesia group. No significant differences were observed in mortality (0.94% vs. 0.57%, p = 0.54), transfusion rate (81.1% vs. 80.9%, p = 0.94), length of hospital stay (45 vs. 45 days, p = 0.23), or other complications between the groups. Similar results were observed in propensity-score matched analysis (n = 640 patients per group). Conclusion Our study showed that both anesthesia types resulted in comparable mortality and complication rates in patients who underwent THA, but the costs differed.
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Lee et al. (2025) conducted a cohort in Primary total hip arthroplasty (n=1,522). General anesthesia vs. Regional anesthesia was evaluated on Mortality within 30 days after surgery (p=0.54). General anesthesia for primary total hip arthroplasty resulted in similar 30-day mortality compared to regional anesthesia (0.94% vs 0.57%, p=0.54), but higher prosthesis failure and ICU admission.
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