Association of hemoglobin levels, acute hemoglobin decrease and age with rehabilitation outcomes after total hip and knee replacement

Aim. A previous retrospective study suggested that an anemia prevention may shorten hospitalization and improve recovery, stating the usefulness of a proper therapy for preventing anemization, in order to get a better functional recovery and reduce hospitalization length. The present study analyzed the association of preoperative and postoperative hemoglobin levels with rehabilitation outcomes to check these results in the Rehabilitation Unit. Methods. The study enrolled 104 patients, 94 underwent hip replacement surgery and 10 knee replacement. Patients were functionally studied through the six-meter walking test (6MWT) at admittance and at discharge from the Rehabilitation Unit. Results. Preoperative hemoglobin has no correlation either with the results of WT executed at discharge nor with the improvement of it compared to the WT executed at admittance, while there is a significant relationship with the results of the WT executed at admittance. Age impacts on the result of 6MWT at admittance, on the one at discharge and on the improvement as well. Conclusion. Despite movement weakening by anemization due to surgery, patients transferred to the Rehabilitation Unit after total hip- and knee replacement, are able to get a better movement performance independently on hemoglobin loss.