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WOMAC scores of contralateral knee linked to short-term outcomes after TKA
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Although patient-reported outcomes for the index knee generally improved following total knee arthroplasty, poor preoperative WOMAC scores in the contralateral knee were associated with poorer short-term outcomes in the index knee, according to study results.
Researchers included 171 patients enrolled in the Osteoarthritis Initiative who received a unilateral TKA and compared preoperative WOMAC scores in the contralateral knee to postoperative WOMAC scores in the index knee.
Preoperatively, the average WOMAC total score was 30.1 in the index knee and 16.1 in the contralateral knee. The researchers found WOMAC total scores of both the index and contralateral knee showed an improvement during the course of the study.
In the preoperative contralateral knee, higher WOMAC total scores were correlated with higher WOMAC total scores in the postoperative index knee, as well as greater changes in WOMAC total and disability score, according to the researchers. However, there was a negative correlation between change in WOMAC total scores of the contralateral knee and WOMAC total scores in the index knee, indicating an overall decrease in osteoarthritic symptoms in the contralateral knee was correlated with better outcomes in the index knee.
Disclosure: Schwarzkopf is a paid consultant for Smith & Nephew, has stock options in Pristine, is on the editorial board for the Journal of Arthroplasty and is on the publication committee for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.
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