Objectives

Patient function after arthroplasty should ideally quickly improve. It is not known which peri-operative function assessments predict length of stay (LOS) and short-term functional recovery. The objective of this study was to identify peri-operative functions assessments predictive of hospital LOS and short-term function after hospital discharge in hip or knee arthroplasty patients.

Purpose: The Quality of Recovery-40 questionnaire (QoR-40) has been developed, validated and extensively used to assess the quality of life of patients following major surgery. It is composed of 40 questions answered by the patient and organized into six dimensions: emotional state, physical comfort, psychological support, physical independence, pain, and global score. However, this questionnaire has not been validated in an orthopaedic population. The objective of the study was to assess the psychometric properties of the QoR-40 in a population of patients undergoing total knee or hip arthroplasty.

Method: Sixty seven patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty and 65 patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty were recruited. Patients were assessed with the QoR-40 and the SF-12, a validated generic quality of life questionnaire, at the following seven times: three and one week pre-operative; one, two and three days post-operative (short-term); one and three months post-operative (long-term). The following psychometric properties of the QoR-40 were assessed: reliability between three and one week pre-operative using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC), construct validity with the SF-12 using Pearson product moment correlations, responsiveness to change using effect sizes, floor and ceiling effects, and predictive validity of short-term QoR-40 scores of long-term SF-12 scores.

Results: All dimensions and global scores of the QoR-40 appeared reliable, with ICCs’ ranging from 0.75 to 0.84. For construct validity, physical dimension scores of the QoR-40 (physical comfort, physical independence, pain) were weakly or not significantly related to the physical component scale of the SF-12 (−0.09 to 0.34), except for long-term where the correlations were moderate (0.35 to 0.62). The emotional state score of the QoR-40 was moderately to substantially related to the mental component scale of the SF-12 for all periods (0.40 to 0.78). Effect sizes were higher for the QoR-40 when compared to the SF-12 in the intervals of the first month, while they were higher for the SF-12 in the intervals above one month. The QoR-40 demonstrated ceiling effects for the physical independence dimension pre-operatively and three months post-operatively, and for all periods for the psychological support dimension. As for predictive validity, short-term post-operative QoR-40 scores were weakly or not significantly predictive of long-term postoperative SF-12 scores (0.01 to 0.41).

Conclusion: The QoR-40 appears to be a reliable tool assessing a quality of life construct different from the SF-12 and more responsive to change during the short-term follow-up to surgery. The QoR-40 could be used to assess short-term quality of life following surgery. The QoR-40 should not be used to predict long-term quality of life. To further improve the tool, the psychological support dimension of the QoR-40 should be reconceptualized because of ceiling effects.

Purpose: Multi-modal therapy remains the cornerstone of post-operative pain management following knee replacement surgery. Femoral nerve catheters and blocks have been used with success in the management of post-operative pain yet most practicing arthroplasty surgeons and anaesthesiologists are unaware of the potential complications and risks of the procedure. The purpose of this study is to report on the complications associated with these techniques following knee replacement surgery.

Method: One thousand one hundred and ninety patients underwent knee replacement surgery between January 2004 and July 1, 2007 and received an indwelling continuous infusion femoral catheter for post-operative marcaine pump infusion. For the initial 469 patients (Group 1), the continuous infusion ran for 2 to 3 days. In 721 patients, the continuous infusion was discontinued 12 hours following surgery (Group 2).

Results: There were 15 major complications observed in 1190 patients: 7 femoral nerve palsies (2 in Group 1, 5 in Group 2) and 8 falls (4 in each group). For the patients who had fallen in hospital, the injuries sustained were: traumatic hemarthrosis, hemarthrosis requiring arthrotomy, major wound dehiscence with exposed implants, complete medial collateral ligament rupture requiring repair, quadriceps tendon rupture requiring delayed repair, minor wound dehiscence with suture, and displaced ankle fracture.

Conclusion: Femoral nerve catheters and blocks are effective tools for post-operative pain relief following knee arthroplasty surgery. However, it is important for the surgeon and anaesthesiologist to provide information regarding the potential complications of the treatment as part of an informed consent. Although the complication rate is relatively low at 1.3%, the occurrence of femoral nerve palsies as well as re-operations significantly delayed patient recovery. We did not observe a benefit in terms relative risk reduction with discontinuation of the continuous infusion 12 hours following surgery. The femoral palsies reported in our series have led our institution to adopt ultrasound guidance for catheter placement rather than tradition nerve stimulation technique, although the safety of this newer technique is currently under evaluation.