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Specific preoperative characteristics found for obese patients undergoing TKA
Patients who undergo total knee arthroplasty with a high body mass index are more likely to be female, of a non-white race and not insured through Medicaid, according to researchers of this study.
“Obese [total knee arthroplasty] TKA candidates in our institution differ from their non-obese counterparts in a number of demographic, socioeconomic, and clinical characteristics. Such differences have implications in preoperative counseling of patients undergoing TKA surgery,” Ettore Vulcano, MD, and colleagues wrote in their study. “Our findings may also be considered by hospital administrators and policy makers in the differential allocation of resources to address the perioperative needs of the growing number of obese TKA candidates.”
Using their institution’s joint replacement registry, Vulcano and colleagues prospectively identified 4,718 patients with osteoarthritis who were undergoing TKA. They categorized patients into normal weight, overweight and three obesity classes.
Compared to normal weight patients, patients in the overweight and obesity classes had lower WOMAC pain, function and stiffness scores. Patients with a higher body mass index (BMI) also tended to be younger than normal weight patients and also less likely to pay for services using Medicare. The researchers also found a positive correlation between increases in BMI and the proportion of patients with non-chronic diabetes, hypertension and depression.
Disclosure: This study was sponsored by a grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.