Multidisciplinary treatment can help with pain after TKA or THA

Issue: February 2014

Multidisciplinary pain treatment has been shown in a recent study to one way to aid patients following total knee arthroplasty and total hip arthroplasty procedures.
In the study, investigators found that multidisciplinary pain treatment (MPT) “has beneficial short-term and mid-term effects on subjective pain intensity, physical capability and depression levels in patients with persistent pain after joint arthroplasty,” lead author Christian Merle, MD, MSc, and colleagues, wrote.
Merle and colleagues conducted a retrospective study that followed 40 patients (mean age 62 years) with persistent unexplained pain following total knee arthroplasty (TKA) or total hip arthroplasty (THA) that previous treatments were unable to rectify. The procedures were performed between April 2007 and April 2010.

The evaluations, which were done before MPT, after 3 weeks of MPT and at 32 months mean follow-up, focused on the patients’ pain intensity, physical capability and psychological status, according to the study.
All the scores used showed a significant improvement at the completion of MPT over the baseline pain scores. At 32 months’ follow-up, pain intensity, physical capability and depression levels deteriorated slightly, but were significantly better than at baseline.
The results showed 79% of the 34 patients available for final follow-up reported a reduction in pain on the Numeric Rating Scale of 0.5 to 5.0 points. All patients reported pre-MPT NSAID use, 41% of patients continued to use NSAIDs and15% of them reported using opioids after 32 months.
Because MPT helps to alleviate unexplained pain following TKA and THA, Merle and colleagues noted in the study it may help patients avoid exploratory revision surgery. – by Christian Ingram

Disclosure: The authors had no relevant financial disclosures

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Source:

Merle C. J Arthroplasty. 2014;doi: 10.1016/j.arth.2013.05.004.