Does Consulting an Occupational Medicine Specialist Decrease Time to Return to Work Among Total Knee Arthroplasty Patients? A 12-Month Prospective Multicenter Cohort Study.
J Occup Rehabil
; 33(2): 267-276, 2023 06.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36083360
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE:
The aim of this study is to investigate whether total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients who consulted an occupational medicine specialist (OMS) within 3 months after surgery, return to work (RTW) earlier than patients who did not consult an OMS.METHODS:
A multi-center prospective cohort study was performed among working TKA patients, aged 18 to 65 years and intending to RTW. Time to RTW was analyzed using Kaplan Meier and Mann Whitney U (MWU), and multiple linear regression analysis was used to adjust for effect modification and confounding.RESULTS:
One hundred and eighty-two (182) patients were included with a median age of 59 years [IQR 54-62], including 95 women (52%). Patients who consulted an OMS were less often self-employed but did not differ on other patient and work-related characteristics. TKA patients who consulted an OMS returned to work later than those who did not (median 78 versus 62 days, MWU p < 0.01). The effect of consulting an OMS on time to RTW was modified by patients' expectations in linear regression analysis (p = 0.05). A median decrease in time of 24 days was found in TKA patients with preoperative high expectations not consulting an OMS (p = 0.03), not in patients with low expectations.CONCLUSIONS:
Consulting an OMS within 3 months after surgery did not result in a decrease in time to RTW in TKA patients. TKA patients with high expectations did RTW earlier without consulting an OMS. Intervention studies on how OMSs can positively influence a timely RTW, incorporating patients' preoperative expectations, are needed.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Artroplastia do Joelho
/
Medicina do Trabalho
Tipo de estudo:
Clinical_trials
/
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
Limite:
Female
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Humans
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
J Occup Rehabil
Assunto da revista:
REABILITACAO
Ano de publicação:
2023
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Holanda