Obesity associated with greater improvements in patient-reported outcomes after TKA
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Key takeaways:
- Obese patients saw greater improvements in patient-reported outcome measures after TKA compared with non-obese patients.
- Researchers concluded obesity cutoffs for TKA may be unwarranted.
According to results published in the Journal of Arthroplasty, patients with obesity had greater improvements in patient-reported outcome measures after total knee arthroplasty compared with patients without obesity.
Researchers retrospectively reviewed data from 1,329 primary TKA procedures between 2016 and 2019. They categorized patients into groups based on BMI in 5 kg/m2 increments, from 17 kg/m2 to 61 kg/m2. All patients underwent standard perioperative optimization and received the EMPOWR 3D implant (Enovis), according to the study. Obese patients (BMI of 35 kg/m2 or greater) were more likely to be younger, women and have a higher propensity of comorbidities.
At a mean follow-up of 1.7 years, every successive group of obese patients yielded continually greater improvements in walking pain, stair-climbing pain, KOOS for Joint Replacement scores, and satisfaction. Researchers also noted no differences in rates of periprosthetic joint infection and no obese patients underwent revision for aseptic loosening. Additionally, researchers found a higher proportion of patients with a BMI of 40 kg/m2 or greater reported they were satisfied with their surgery compared with patients with a BMI less than 40 kg/m2.
“The findings of this study provide further evidence that obesity cutoffs for TKA may be unwarranted and restrict access to care when proper perioperative medical optimization is implemented,” the researchers wrote in the study.
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