The DTC approach to patient management aims to decrease waiting list times and length of stay (LOS). To implement a reduction in the LOS it is imperative that suitable patients are selected. Factors such as co-morbidity and social support are important but other factors may also influence LOS.

To investigate if pre-operative measures of function were predictive of length of stay for patients treated in a Diagnostic & Treatment Centre for elective hip arthroplasty. The first 75 patients treated by the DTC were assessed pre-operatively recording timed measures of function for sit-to-stand, and stair climbing as well as ratings of pain and the WOMAC questionnaire. These measures were compared with the LOS for patients and their functional outcome at 6 weeks after discharge.

Linear regression was used to examine the influence of the measures on LOS. T-tests were used to compare the outcome at 6 weeks for pain and function between patients discharged within 5 days versus > 5 days.

The mean age was 65 years (39 – 80 years SD 8.4); 33 male and 42 female. Mean LOS was 6 days (4–14 SD 1.8), 52 % reached the DTC target of discharge on the 5th day. Regression analysis showed sit-to- stand was the best predictor of LOS (R2 = 46.7%) followed by WOMAC pain and climbing stairs. There were no significant differences in the pain or function scores at 6 weeks for patients discharged at 5 days or later.

Conclusion: There was a linear relationship between pre-operative sit-to-stand and LOS. The timed measures were simple to perform and patients could be tested in their own homes. Early discharge did not result in poorer self-reported outcome at 6 weeks. The routine measurement of sit-to-stand may be useful to clinicians as a prognostic indicator for treatment allocation and planning.