Hospitalisation and treatment of osteoarthritis

A variety of procedures to restore joint function, help relieve pain and improve quality of life for someone with osteoarthritis are performed in hospitals.

In 2010–11:

• there were 99,300 hospitalisations with a principal diagnosis of osteoarthritis
• more females (478 per 100,000 people) than males (405 per 100,000) were hospitalised for osteoarthritis
• the hospitalisation rate was higher for males than females up to age 54, after which the rate was higher for females
• the rate of hospitalisation increased with age until the age of 75 years.

The hospitalisation rate for Australians with osteoarthritis increased in the 10 years from 2001–02 to 2010–11: from 326 hospitalisations per 100,000 population in 2001–02 to 408 per 100,000 population in 2010–11. There was a slightly larger increase for females.

Procedures

In 2010–11 there were 115,082 surgical procedures performed in both public and private hospitals on people with a principal diagnosis of osteoarthritis. The average length of hospital stay was 4.9 days.

The most common procedures (shown as a percentage of all procedures for osteoarthritis) were:

• total knee replacement (29%)
• total hip replacement (20%)
• arthroscopy (exploratory surgery to diagnose the reason for the pain and damage to the joint) (9%).

Total joint replacements are the most common surgical procedures for osteoarthritis with 59,366 total joint replacements performed (36,368 knee replacements and 22,998 hip replacements). Knee and hip replacements were most common among women aged 75–79. Hip replacements were most common among males aged up to age 64.

The number of total joint replacements has increased over the 10 years to 2010–11. The rate of knee replacement increased from 95 per 100,000 to 148 per 100,000 population. The number of hip replacements increased from 77 to 94 per 100,000 population.

In addition to surgical procedures, allied health interventions such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy were delivered in these surgical hospitalisations (74% and 25% of surgical hospitalisations with a principal diagnosis of osteoarthritis respectively).

Source tables

np = not published.

a. Refers to the number of hospitalisations where osteoarthritis was the principal diagnosis.
b. Rate=age standardised rate per 100,000 population. For each sex, the age-specific rates are obtained by dividing the number of hospitalisations for each of the age groups by the population for that age group in December 2010.

Notes:
1. Osteoarthritis was classified according to ICD-10-AM, 7th edition (NCCH 2010) for 2010-11, and the earlier editions were used for the years 2000-01 to 2009-10. In all editions of ICD-10-AM used, the ICD-10-AM codes for osteoarthritis were M15, M16, M17, M18, and M19.
2. Hospitalisations for which the care type was reported as Newborn (without qualified days), and records for Hospital boarders and Posthumous organ procurement have been excluded.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

a. Rates were age-standardised to the Australian population as at 30 June 2001.

Notes:
1. Osteoarthritis was classified according to ICD-10-AM, 7th edition (NCCH 2010) for 2010-11, and the earlier editions were used for the years 2000-01 to 2009-10. In all editions of ICD-10-AM used, the ICD-10-AM codes for osteoarthritis were M15, M16, M17, M18, and M19.
2. Hospitalisations for which the care type was reported as Newborn (without qualified days), and records for Hospital boarders and Posthumous organ procurement have been excluded.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

a. For each sex, the age-specific rates are obtained by dividing the number of hospitalisations for each of the age groups by the population for that age group in December 2010.

Notes:
1. Osteoarthritis was classified according to ICD-10-AM, 7th edition (NCCH 2010) for 2010-11, and the earlier editions were used for the years 2000-01 to 2009-10. In all editions of ICD-10-AM used, the ICD-10-AM codes for osteoarthritis were M15, M16, M17, M18, M19.
2. Hospitalisations for which the care type was reported as Newborn (without qualified days), and records for Hospital boarders and Posthumous organ procurement have been excluded.
3. The Australian Classification of Health Interventions (ACHI) codes 7th edition (NCCH 2010) were used to record hospital procedures for patients admitted to hospital for principal diagnosis of osteoarthritis for 2010-11. The earlier editions were used for the years 2000-01 to 2009-10.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

a. Rates were age-standardised to the Australian population as at 30 June 2001.

Notes:
1. Osteoarthritis was classified according to ICD-10-AM, 7th edition (NCCH 2010) for 2010-11, and the earlier editions were used for the years 2000-01 to 2009-10. In all editions of ICD-10-AM used, the ICD-10-AM codes for osteoarthritis were M15, M16, M17, M18, M19.
2. Hospitalisations for which the care type was reported as Newborn (without qualified days), and records for Hospital boarders and Posthumous organ procurement have been excluded.
3. The Australian Classification of Health Interventions (ACHI) codes 7th edition (NCCH 2010) were used to record hospital procedures for patients admitted to hospital for principal diagnosis of osteoarthritis for 2010-11. The earlier editions were used for the years 2000-01 to 2009-10.

Source: AIHW National Hospital Morbidity Database.

Reference

NCCH (National Centre for Classification in Health) 2010. The international statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision, Australian modification (ICD-10-AM), Australian Classification of Health Interventions (ACHI) and Australian Coding Standards (ACS), 7th ed. Sydney: University of Sydney.