Researchers analyzed anesthesia data for nearly 1 million hip and knee replacement surgeries between 2006 and 2013 from a national claims database.
Here are five findings:
1. The lack of regional anesthesia could result in an increased risk of serious complications including death and blood clots.
2. Head researcher Jashvant Poeran, MD, PhD, said, “Specific patient groups are significantly less likely to receive regional anesthesia, and this disparity may have a negative impact on their outcomes.”
3. Hispanic patients were 24 percent less likely to receive regional anesthesia while Medicaid patients were 20 percent less likely.
4. Uninsured patients were 16 percent less likely to receive regional anesthesia while black patients were 10 percent less likely.
5. There was no clear reason as to why the disparities existed although healthcare inequalities do exist in other areas such as poor prenatal care for women from low socioeconomic backgrounds.
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