Stiffness of the knee after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) impairs knee function and reduces patient satisfaction. Limited preoperative range of motion (ROM) and a diagnosis of osteoarthritis seem to be associated with postoperative stiffness, and medical comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus have been discussed as predisposing factors. The present study was undertaken in order to analyse both patient-related and surgical factors that could be associated with the need for mobilization under anaesthesia (MUA) after TKA. We designed a case-control-study and extracted the study population from our local arthroplasty register. We identified all patients in our register that required MUA following primary TKA (n=35) and then randomly selected 4 control patients for each case of MUA. Incomplete medical records resulted in the exclusion of 18 patients, leaving 157 patients. Univariate analysis was used in order to investigate differences between the two groups with respect to demographics, pre- and postoperative ROM, medical or psychiatric comorbidities, and the type of implant. Variables with a proposed influence on outcome were entered into a binary logistic regression model, and risk ratios (RR) were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI).Introduction
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