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Question Does the use of a clinical pathway improve patient outcomes after hip or knee arthroplasty?
Design
Randomised, unblinded, controlled trial with ≥3 months follow up.
Setting
A tertiary referral hospital in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Patients
175 patients who had hip or knee arthroplasty between January 1996 and December 1997. 12 patients (6.9%) were excluded after randomisation because they were having revision arthroplasty, simultaneous bilateral joint arthroplasty, arthroplasty for acute trauma, or complex tumour surgery. The remaining 163 patients (mean age 66 y, 66% women) completed ≥3 months of follow up.
Intervention
92 patients were allocated to the clinical pathway group and 71 were allocated to the control group. Patients in the clinical pathway group received “proactive” treatment whereby specific …