RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 The rate of unnecessary interventions for the management of knee osteoarthritis: a population-based cohort study
JF Canadian Journal of Surgery
JO CAN J SURG
FD Canadian Medical Association
SP E114
OP E120
DO 10.1503/cjs.002221
VO 65
IS 1
A1 Jacquelyn D. Marsh
A1 Ryan Degen
A1 Trevor B. Birmingham
A1 J. Robert Giffin
A1 Alan Getgood
A1 Robert Litchfield
A1 Kevin Willits
A1 J. Andrew McClure
A1 Blayne Welk
YR 2022
UL http://canjsurg.ca/content/65/1/E114.abstract
AB Background: Several commonly used procedures for knee osteoarthritis (OA) are not supported by evidence-based guidelines. The objective of this study was to identify the proportion of patients who underwent knee arthroscopy or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and the timing of these procedures before total knee arthroplasty (TKA).Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using administrative data sets from Ontario, Canada. We identified the proportion of patients who underwent knee arthroscopy in the previous 10 years or an MRI in the 3 years before their primary TKA. We also evaluated the rate of arthroscopies by diagnosis. We report the timing of each outcome in relation to the TKA, rates by geographical area, and differences in rates over time.Results: We included 142 275 patients, of whom 36 379 (25.57%) underwent knee arthroscopy (median time 2.8 [interquartile range (IQR) 1.1–6.0] years); 22% of those were within 1 year of TKA and 52% were within 3 years. The rates of arthroscopies for a diagnosis of osteoarthritis (OA) steadily decreased, while those for meniscal-related diagnoses increased over the study period (p < 0.0001). There was significant variation by region. Of the cohort, 23.2% (n = 32 989) had an MRI before their TKA, with rates significantly increasing over time (p < 0.0001).Conclusion: A substantial proportion of patients with knee OA received diagnostic and therapeutic interventions before TKA that are contrary to clinical practice guidelines.