Patient goals, motivation may direct decisions on carpometacarpal joint OA surgery
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While the most frequently reported goals for carpometacarpal joint osteoarthritis surgery included pain reduction and improved arm and hand use, results showed these goals were not reflected in patient self-reports of pain and function.
“Decisions on [carpometacarpal joint] OA surgery should be based on assessment and discussion of patients’ life situation, hand pain, activity limitations and goals, and motivation for surgery,” the authors wrote. “According to the European League Against Rheumatism recommendations, previously received conservative and pharmacological treatment should also be evaluated.”
Among 180 patients with carpometacarpal joint OA, researchers collected goals for surgery with an open-ended question, categorized with the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health coding system, and compared with self-reports of pain and function. Researchers rated motivation for surgery with a numeric rating scale and used multivariate regression analyses to explore factors characterizing patients highly motivated for surgery.
Although patients reported pain reduction and improvement in arm and hand use as the most common goals for surgery, researchers found these were not reflected in self-reports of pain and function. Results showed 31% of patients were characterized as highly motivated for surgery, which was strongly associated with reporting more activity limitations, living alone and young age.
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