Article

Factors associated with malpractice claims are poorly
understood. Knowledge of these factors could help to improve patient safety. We
investigated whether patient characteristics and hospital volume affect claims
and compensations following total hip arthroplasty (THA)
and knee arthroplasty
(TKA) in a no-fault scheme. METHODS: A retrospective registry-based study was
done on 16,646 THAs and 17,535 TKAs performed in Finland from 1998 through 2003.
First, the association between patient characteristics-e.g., age, sex,
comorbidity, prosthesis type-and annual hospital volume with filing of a claim
was analyzed by logistic regression. Then, multinomial logistic regression was
applied to analyze the association between these same factors and receipt of
compensation. RESULTS: For THA and TKA, patients over 65 years of age were less
likely to file a claim than patients under 65 (OR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.46-0.72 and
OR = 0.65, CI: 0.53-0.80, respectively), while patients with increased
comorbidity were more likely to file a claim (OR = 1.17, CI: 1.04-1.31 and OR =
1.14, CI: 1.03-1.26, respectively). Following THA, male sex and cemented
prosthesis reduced the odds of a claim (OR = 0.74, CI: 0.60-0.91 and OR = 0.77,
CI: 0.60-0.99, respectively) and volume of between 200 and 300 operations
increased the odds of a claim (OR = 1.29, CI: 1.01-1.64). Following TKA, a volume
of over 300 operations reduced the probability of compensation for certain injury
types (RRR = 0.24, CI: 0.08-0.72). INTERPRETATION: Centralization of TKA to
hospitals with higher volume may reduce the rate of compensable patient injuries.
Furthermore, more attention should be paid to equal opportunities for patients to file a claim and obtain compensation.

Langue : ANGLAIS