OBJECTIVES:

The aim of our study is to compare postoperative rehabilitation outcomes of hip arthroplasty patients operated in the state and private care in Hungary.

METHODS:

Hip replacement patients were selected from the Department of Orthopedics, Clinical Centre of the University of Pécs and at the Da Vinci Private Clinic in Pécs. In the 6th week postoperatively, they completed a questionnaire about utilisation of rehabilitation.

RESULTS:

The research involved 164 people, 75 patients in the state and 89 in the private health care. There was a significant difference in the rate of rehabilitation utilisation, with 90.67% of patients in the state sector and only 59.55% of private patients receiving rehabilitation (p<0.001). Among them, 53.33% of state patients visited a public rehabilitation institution (p<0.001) or 25.33% used public home care, while private patients mainly used public (20.22%) and private (17.98%) home care. There was also a significant difference in the start of treatment, with 46.67% of patients in the state sector starting treatment immediately compared to 19.10% of private patients (p<0.001). At the 6th postoperative week, state patients mainly walked with one (36.0%) (p=0.003) or two elbow crutches (45.33%) (p<0.001), and private patients either with one elbow crutch (15.73%) or without a walking aid (71.91%) (p<0.001). No significant differences were found between the groups in the incidence of complications, postoperative visits to the doctor and new hospital admissions.

CONCLUSIONS:

There was a significant difference in the rehabilitation outcomes between state and private health care patients who underwent hip replacement surgery. Overall, rehabilitation participation was higher among state patients, and most of them started treatment immediately. The majority of private patients dropped their walking aids by the 6th week after surgery. No differences were seen in complications, revisits to the doctor and hospital admissions.