Objectives. A patient-centred approach, usually achieved through shared decision making, has the potential to help improve decision making around knee arthroplasty surgery. However, such an approach requires an understanding of the factors involved in patient decision making. This review’s objective is to systematically examine the qualitative literature surrounding patients’ decision making in knee arthroplasty. Methods. A systematic literature review using Medline and Embase was conducted to identify qualitative studies that examined patients’ decision making around knee arthroplasty. An aggregated account of what is known about patients’ decision making in knee arthroplasties is provided. Results. Seven studies with 234 participants in interviews or focus groups are included. Ten themes are replicated across studies, namely: expectations of surgery; coping mechanisms; relationship with clinician; fear; pain; function; psychological implications; social network; previous experience of surgery; and conflict in opinions. Conclusions. This review is helpful in not only directing future research to areas that are not understood, or require confirmation, but also in highlighting areas that future interventions could address. These include those aimed at delivering information, which are likely to affect the satisfaction rate, demand, and use of knee arthroplasties. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2015;4;163–169

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to compare the joint space width between one-leg and both-legs standing radiographs in order to diagnose a primary osteoarthritis of the knee.

Objectives

A lack of connection between surgeons and patients in evaluating the outcome of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has led to the search for the ideal patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) to evaluate these procedures. We hypothesised that the desired psychometric properties of the ideal outcome tool have not been uniformly addressed in studies describing TKA PROMS.