A new study released in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery found a link between obesity and a higher risk for surgery in orthopedic trauma patients, according to the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
Here are four key facts:
1. More than 38 percent of the American population is affected by obesity.
2. Researchers conducting the study identified 301 patients with multiple orthopedic injuries at a Level 1 trauma center from 2006 to 2011. Patients found to have a BMI of less than 30 kg/m² were categorized as non-obese, and those who measured more than 30 kg/m² were considered obese.
3. The patients with obesity were divided into Class I (patients with a BMI between 30 kg/m² and 35 kg/m²) and Class II (patients with a BMI greater than 35 kg/m²).
4. The results were as follows:
- Patients with obesity had an increased risk of surgery. Seventy-two percent of the obese patients required surgical treatment, and nearly 55 percent of non-obese patients required surgical treatment. Sixty-seven percent of Class I patients had surgery, while 93.3 percent of Class II patients required surgery.
- Patients with a normal BMI had shorter hospital stays, staying for 7.2 days average in the ICU and 12.4 days average for the hospital total. Patients with obesity had a mean stay of 9.7 days average in the ICU and 16.4 days average for the hospital total.
- The average hospital costs for non-obese patients were $160,606.02, and for obese patients the average costs were $234,863.58.
- A greater number of Class II patients required a discharge to a continuing care facility.