Patient relevant outcome 7 years after total hip replacement for OA - a prospective study.

BACKGROUND: To investigate prospectively the patient-relevant outcome 7 years after total hip replacement (THR) for osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: 219 consecutive patients (120 women) with primary OA, mean age 71 (range 50-92) were assigned for THR. They were examined preoperatively, at 3, 6, 12 months, and at 4, 5 and 7 years postoperatively with the self-administered questionnaires SF-36 and WOMAC. Supplementary questions regarding postoperative complications, general co-morbidity, social circumstances and patient satisfaction were asked at the three last follow-ups. A reference group, 117 subjects (67 women), mean age 72 (range 52-92) without hip complaints were recruited from the community and investigated at the same times. RESULTS: 151/170 (89%) of the patients and 65/74 (88%) of the reference group participated at the 7 year follow-up. The best postoperative result was reported one year postoperatively. At the 7 year follow up there was a significant difference between the patients and controls in SF-36 physical function (PF) and role physical (RP) but not of WOMAC function. There was no difference in frequency of co-morbid conditions between those operated and the reference group, but those operated were in greater need of walking aid (46% vs. 8% p < 0.0001) and reported more regional and widespread pain (68% vs. 53% p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study shows that in an unselected cohort the patients experience a similar health-related quality of life as a reference group of a similar age and sex structure 7 years after THR except for general physical function where the patients score worse.

Knee arthroplasty: are patients' expectations fulfilled? A prospective study of pain and function in 102 patients with 5-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: With an aging population expecting an active life after retirement, patients' expectations of improvement after surgery are also increasing. We analyzed the relationship between preoperative expectations and postoperative satisfaction and self-reported outcomes with regard to pain and physical function after knee arthroplasty. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 102 patients (39 men) with knee osteoarthritis and who were assigned for TKR (mean age 71 (51-86) years) were investigated with KOOS, SF-36, and additional questions concerning physical activity level, expectations, satisfaction, and relevance of the outcome to the patient. These investigations took place preoperatively and postoperatively after 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years of follow-up. RESULTS: Response rate at 5 years was 86%. In general, the patients' preoperative expectations were higher than their postoperative ability. For example, 41% expected to be able to perform activities such as golfing and dancing while only 14% were capable of these activities at 5 years. Having high or low preoperative expectations with regard to walking ability or leisure-time activities had no influence on the KOOS scores postoperatively. 93% of the patients were generally satisfied 5 years postoperatively, while 87% were satisfied with the relief of pain and 80% with their improvement in physical function at that time. INTERPRETATION: With an expanding population of mentally alert elderly, we can expect that great demands will be put on joint replacements. This study shows that patients have high preoperative expectations concerning reduction of pain. To a considerable extent, these expectations are fulfilled after one year. Expectations concerning demanding physical activities are not fulfilled to the same degree; however, most patients reported general satisfaction with the outcome indicating that satisfaction is not equivalent to fulfilled expectations. Preoperative counseling should include realistic information on outcomes concerning physical function and pain relief.

Variation in age and physical status prior to total knee and hip replacement surgery: a comparison of centers in Australia and Europe.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether variation exists in the preoperative age, pain, stiffness, and physical function of people undergoing total knee replacement (TKR) and total hip replacement (THR) at several centers in Australia and Europe. METHODS: Individual Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index data (range 0-100, where 0 = best and 100 = worst) collected within 6 weeks prior to primary TKR and THR were extracted from 16 centers (n = 2,835) according to specified eligibility criteria. Analysis of covariance was used to evaluate differences in pain, stiffness, and physical function between centers, with adjustment for age and sex. RESULTS: There was marked variation in the age of people undergoing surgery between the centers (TKR mean age 67-73 years; F[6,1004] = 4.21, P < 0.01, and THR mean age 63-72 years; F[14,1807] = 7.27, P < 0.01). Large differences in preoperative status were observed between centers, most notably for pain (TKR adjusted mean pain 52.5-61.1; F[6,1002] = 4.26, P < 0.01, and THR adjusted mean pain 49.2-65.7; F[14,1802] = 8.44, P < 0.01) and physical function (TKR adjusted mean function 52.7-61.4; F[6,1002] = 5.27, P < 0.01, and THR adjusted mean function 53.3-71.0; F[14,1802] = 6.71, P < 0.01). Large effect sizes (up to 0.98) reflect the magnitude of variation between centers and highlight the clinical relevance of these findings. CONCLUSION: The large variations in age and preoperative status indicate substantial differences in the timing of joint replacement across the centers studied, with potential for compromised surgical outcomes due to premature or delayed surgery. Possible contributing factors include patient preferences, the absence of concrete indications for surgery, and the capacity of the health care systems.

Hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome score (HOOS)--validity and responsiveness in total hip replacement.

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate if physical functions usually associated with a younger population were of importance for an older population, and to construct an outcome measure for hip osteoarthritis with improved responsiveness compared to the Western Ontario McMaster osteoarthritis score (WOMAC LK 3.0). METHODS: A 40 item questionnaire (hip disability and osteoarthritis outcome score, HOOS) was constructed to assess patient-relevant outcomes in five separate subscales (pain, symptoms, activity of daily living, sport and recreation function and hip related quality of life). The HOOS contains all WOMAC LK 3.0 questions in unchanged form. The HOOS was distributed to 90 patients with primary hip osteoarthritis (mean age 71.5, range 49-85, 41 females) assigned for total hip replacement for osteoarthritis preoperatively and at six months follow-up. RESULTS: The HOOS met set criteria of validity and responsiveness. It was more responsive than WOMAC regarding the subscales pain (SRM 2.11 vs. 1.83) and other symptoms (SRM 1.83 vs. 1.28). The responsiveness (SRM) for the two added subscales sport and recreation and quality of life were 1.29 and 1.65, respectively. Patients 66 years of age (range 67-85) (Pain SRM 2.60 vs. 1.97, other symptoms SRM 3.0 vs. 1.60, activity of daily living SRM 2.51 vs. 1.52, sport and recreation function SRM 1.53 vs. 1.21 and hip related quality of life SRM 1.95 vs. 1.57). CONCLUSION: The HOOS 2.0 appears to be useful for the evaluation of patient-relevant outcome after THR and is more responsive than the WOMAC LK 3.0. The added subscales sport and recreation function and hip related quality of life were highly responsive for this group of patients, with the responsiveness being highest for those younger than 66.

Patient relevant outcomes after total hip replacement. A comparison between different surgical techniques.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate differences in pre- and postoperative patient-relevant outcome between hybrid total hip replacement (THR) and cemented THR in patients with primary osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: 245 consecutive patients were included in the study. 68 of the patients (mean age 62) were operated on with hybrid THR and 177 (mean age 74) were operated on with cemented THR. All patients were investigated preoperatively and 0.5, 1 and 3.6 years postoperatively with two self-administered questionnaires, SF-36 and WOMAC (Western Ontario and MacMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index, LK 3.0). RESULTS: Preoperatively, there was a difference in the SF-36 subscales RP (role physical) and GH (general health) where the patients with the hybrid THR attained better scores. At 3.6-years the patients with the hybrid THR reached better scores in all SF-36 subscales except BP (bodily pain) and GH. Further, they had better scores in WOMAC function. However, after adjusting for age, sex, follow-up time and baseline values there were no differences in outcome between the two different surgical techniques. CONCLUSION: This medium term (3-5 years), controlled, open cohort study, using patient-relevant outcome measures, did not reveal any differences between hybrid THR and cemented THR for OA at 3.6 years after surgery. Since the study had 75-94% power to detect the clinically significant score difference of 10 points, we suggest that any difference in outcome between these two methods is small and may require a large-scale, blinded, randomized trial to show.