In a study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, researchers found knee surgery is highly effective in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Researchers from different Kansas centers examined almost 19,000 patients diagnosed with RA and osteoarthritis. These patients were also undergoing primary total knee arthroplasty from 1999 to 2002. Researchers collected data from the patients about indices of pain, including overall, index knee and contralateral knee, and health-related quality of life across three six-month intervals (baseline, at preoperative times, perioperative and postoperative recovery).
Here are four key points:
1. Of the total patients, 834 of those with RA (5.3 percent) and 315 of those with OA (10.2 percent) underwent index TKA at similar mean ages, about 65 to 68 years.
2. Researchers discovered improvements in the areas of pain, function and health-related quality of life within both RA and OA disease groups; even greater impact was noted in the OA patient group.
3. Researchers added that RA diagnoses, lower income or perioperative anxiety were independently associated with a lower degree of improvement in index knee pain following TKA.
4. Senior study author, Kaleb Michaud, MD, explained a new knee can give osteoarthritis patients 10 to 20 years of painless use, whereas RA continues to affect the joint soon afterward.