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Patients who undergo TKA are older, heavier than in previous years

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When compared with patients from 20 years ago, patients who more recently underwent total knee arthroplasty were older and weighed more, according to study results presented at the 15th EFORT Congress — a combined program in partnership with the BOA. However, changes in surgical practice during the past 20 years have improved complications.

Researchers performed a retrospective analysis of 686 patients who underwent primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) between December 1994 and August 1998 (group one) and 1,408 patients who underwent surgery between January 2009 and November 2012 (group two).

Mean age at the time of surgery (70.1 years vs. 68.8 years) and body mass index (BMI) for group two were significantly greater than group one, according to the researchers.

“The patients in the second group had an average BMI of 32.0 kg/m², significantly higher than patients in the first group who weighed in at 29.4 kg/m² on average,” lead author Ewan Barclay Goudie, MBChB, of the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, United Kingdom, stated in a press release from the Congress.

However, group one experienced a significantly greater length of stay (12.2 days vs. 5.6 days), number of postoperative blood transfusions (40% vs. 4.3%), and worse mean preoperative pain and function components of the American Knee Society Score, indicating an improvement in surgical technique over the years.

“Taking patient safety lightly is like getting in the driver’s seat drunk,” Pierre Hoffmeyer, MD, past president of EFORT, said in a separate press release. “Patient safety is of central importance for the success of treatment, especially for orthopaedic surgeons. Health care policymakers are also increasingly discovering patient safety as a key factor for improved and more cost-efficient health care.”

Reference: Goudie EB. Abstract #839. Presented at: 15th EFORT Congress: a combined programme in partnership with BOA; June 4-6, 2014; London.

Source info: Ewan Barclay Goudie, MD, can be reached at Victoria Hospital, Hayfield Rd, Kirkcaldy, Fife KY2 5AH, United Kingdom; email: ewangoudie@gmail.com.

Disclosure: Goudie has no relevant financial disclosures.