Decline in Racial Disparities for United States Hospital Admissions After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction From 2007 to 2015.

backgroundRacial disparities in perioperative complications have been shown to exist for many procedures in orthopaedic surgery. Although anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) is commonly performed as an outpatient procedure, the rate of admission to the hospital postoperatively is not insignificant. Hispanic patients have been shown to have higher odds of admission compared with non-Hispanic patients. HYPOTHESIS: We hypothesized that racial disparities would decrease from 2007 to 2015, resulting in lower rates of hospital admission for Black and Hispanic patients. STUDY

designDescriptive epidemiology study.

methodsThis study represents a retrospective analysis of the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database for patients undergoing ACLR between 2007 and 2015. We performed bivariate analysis as well as binary logistic regression, with postoperative admission as the primary outcome. Previously identified risk factors for admission were used as predictors in addition to a term for the statistical interaction between year of surgery and ethnicity.

resultsA total of 7542 patients undergoing ACLR were assessed. The logistic regression model showed that Hispanic patients had higher overall odds of admission (odds ratio [OR], 3.320;

conclusionAdmission rates after ACLR declined from 2007 to 2015. Black and Hispanic patients were more likely to be admitted overall, but they also saw a greater decrease in the odds of admission than White patients. This represents a reduction in disparity between the 2 groups and is a reassuring improvement in racial disparity trends after a common sports procedure.