Carr CJ, Mears SC, Barnes CL, et al. - This study was intended to ascertain how the actual length of stay (LOS) compared to those predicted by both the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and Diagnosis Related Group (DRG). Researchers examined 99 consecutive total joint arthroplasties (49 hips and 50 knee procedures) in Medicare-eligible patients from four fellowship-trained arthroplasty surgeons. They computed predicted LOS using the DRG and ACS risk calculators for each patient using demographics, medical histories, and comorbidities. The data indicated that the actual LOS was significantly shorter than that predicted by both the DRG and ACS risk calculators. As per the findings, current risk calculators may not be accurate for contemporary fast-track protocols and newer tools should be developed.