PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Danny P. Goel
AU  - Denise Chan
AU  - Kathryn Watson
AU  - Nicholas Mohtadi
TI  - Safety and hospital costs of Achilles tendon surgery: the serendipitous impact of a randomized clinical trial
DP  - 2009 Dec 01
TA  - Canadian Journal of Surgery
PG  - 467--472
VI  - 52
IP  - 6
4099  - http://canjsurg.ca/content/52/6/467.short
4100  - http://canjsurg.ca/content/52/6/467.full
SO  - CAN J SURG2009 Dec 01; 52
AB  - Background: Surgical management is currently the most common treatment offered for ruptured Achilles tendon; however, the length of hospital stay varies among hospitals. The objective of our study was to compare the costs associated with hospital stay and safety in 2 groups of patients undergoing surgical treatment of Achilles tendon ruptures. The first group of patients represented the surgical arm of a randomized clinical trial, the Multicentre Achilles Tendon Treatment Study (MATTS), and the second group comprised surgically treated patients not included in that trial (non-MATTS).Methods: We performed an observational analytical retrospective chart review of all patients surgically treated for acute Achilles tendon ruptures at all Calgary-area hospitals over a 3-year period (October 2002–September 2005) who met our inclusion criteria. We determined the costs associated with hospital stay, complications and readmissions for all patients.Results: A total of 282 patients met our inclusion criteria. Hospital admission costs of patients enrolled in the MATTS trial were less than those of non-MATTS patients treated at each of the 3 Calgary adult hospitals. Non-MATTS patients remained in hospital for 1–4 days in contrast to MATTS patients, who were typically admitted and discharged the day of surgery. The complication rate was similar in both groups (MATTS 9% v. non-MATTS 8%). There were no readmissions in the MATTS group and 2 in the non-MATTS group. Between October 2002 and September 2005, an additional $236 436 was spent on non-MATTS patients who underwent surgery for Achilles tendon rupture.Conclusion: Acute achilles tendon repair surgery is safe and less costly as an out-patient procedure.