Demographic, surgical and care profiles across the study periods
| Baseline audit n=93 | Postintervention n=347 | p Value | |
| Demographic | |||
| Age, mean years (SD) | 69.7 (7.9) | 69.3 (8.1) | 0.68 |
| Female, n (%) | 64 (69) | 232 (67) | 0.75 |
| Body mass index (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 31.9 (5.8) | 31.9 (6.4) | 0.98 |
| Osteoarthritis as primary diagnosis, n (%) | 84 (96) | 332 (96) | 0.76 |
| Preoperative haemoglobin (g/l), mean (SD) | 138.9 (13.7) | 140.6 (13.4) | 0.31 |
| Cardiac disease, n (%) | 20 (22) | 85 (24) | 0.59 |
| Respiratory, n (%) | 19 (21) | 95 (27) | 0.20 |
| Renal, n (%) | 7 (8) | 12 (3) | 0.09 |
| Hypertension, n (%) | 52 (57) | 245 (70) | 0.01 |
| Surgical | |||
| General anaesthetic+peripheral nerve block, n (%) | 47 (52) | 190 (57) | 0.36 |
| Cement fixation, n (%) | 56 (60) | 310 (90) | <0.01 |
| Surgical time (min), mean (SD) | 114.9 (24.0) | 115.1 (22.7) | 0.95 |
| Tourniquet time (min), mean (SD) | 98.9 (21.4) | 86.2 (27.9) | <0.01 |
| Postoperative drainage (ml), mean (SD) | 611.5 (316.8) | 509.0 (307.9) | <0.01 |
| Care protocols | |||
| Continuous passive motion therapy | Not routine | Not routine | – |
| Cryotherapy | Not routine | Not routine | – |
| Low-molecular-weight heparin | Routine prescription postsurgery unless contraindicated | Routine prescription postsurgery unless contraindicated | – |
| Intra-articular drain removed at 24 h postsurgery | Routine | Routine | – |