Quality of life after total knee arthroplasty

ABSTRACT

The utilization rates of elective total knee arthroplasties [TKAs] are steadily increasing with an aging population. Measuring the health-related QoL [HRQoL] has been increasingly acknowledged as a means of measuring knee replacement outcomes. To assess the quality of life in patient-reported outcomes at 6 months post-operatively following total knee replacement. A prospective observational study was carried out using the function subscale of a disease-specific measure the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities [WOMAC] Osteoarthritis Index and a generic health status measure the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey [SF-36]. Independent variables examined included demographic variables [e.g., age, sex, BMI], medical variables [e.g., diagnosis, number of co-morbid conditions, ambulatory status], and knee range of motion. Six months after intervention, patients again were re-evaluated by the same questionnaires. During the duration of the study [16 months], 37 patients were included in this study, three patients refused to rejoin the post-operative evaluation. The mean age was 64 years and 57% of the patients were females. Multivariate analysis, in which the pre-operative and postoperative scores were analyzed showed a significant improvement in both WOMAC but a lesser improvement in SF-36 results, 68.5 [SD +/- I6.2] and28.8 [SD +/- 12.3] respectively. The impact of total knee arthroplasty on patients' quality of life is well noticed in the study as the procedure improves functional outcomes in uncomplicated patients