Abstract
Purpose of the Study
To identify trends in patient satisfaction of their knee arthroplasty, total and unicompartmental, one year post primary knee arthroplasty surgery, with reference to age, gender and primary diagnosis, from 1990 to 2008.
Methods & Results
The Trent Arthroplasty Register was established in 1990 to collect prospective data on knee arthroplasty surgery Data has been recorded relating to 48,929 knee arthroplasties in the period 1990-2008. Self-administered questionnaires were mailed to patients 1 year after their surgery. This PROMS data has been analysed to identify trends in 25,521 patients
62% (24,648) of knee arthroplasties were performed for osteoarthritis and 32% (1,233) for rheumatoid arthritis. 83.6% of osteoarthritic patients (20,244) were satisfied with their knee 1 yr post surgery, 8.5% (2055) unsure and 7.9% dissatisfied. Comparable figures for patients with rheumatoid arthritis were 81.3% (1,028) satisfied, 10.3% (130) unsure and 8.4% dissatisfied. Overall, there was no significant difference in satisfaction rates between different diagnostic groups of patients. In osteoarthritic patients, satisfaction rates have remained the same throughout the last 18 years, in different time periods. The satisfaction rate was 83.2% for the period 1990-1994, 80.9% for 1995-1999, 86.5% for 2000-2004 and 84.1% for 2005-2007. There was no statistically significant difference between the levels of satisfaction for these time periods. The age of the patient did not affect the satisfaction rate.
Conclusion
There was no significant difference in satisfaction rates between male and female patients. Overall, this study demonstrates that patient satisfaction with knee arthroplasty surgery has remained high and is irrespective of age, gender and primary diagnosis. A significant minority of patients, however, continue to remain dissatisfied with their knee implants and this figure has remained static over an 18-year period.
