Many people with knee pain due to arthritis hope that replacing the joint will banish the pain. A new study indicates that as many as one-third of the patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery have taken this drastic step even though it may have been inappropriate for them. The investigators looked at 4,800 Americans with osteoarthritis of the knee. Just over 200 of them opted for total knee replacements during the study period.
Their joint damage, range of motion and pain severity were evaluated, with approximately 44 percent of the surgeries classified as appropriate. The researchers suggest that doctors and patients need to work together to determine if and when a joint replacement is the best option.
[Arthritis and Rheumatology, online June 30, 2014]
In The People’s Pharmacy perspective, it always makes sense for doctors and patients to work together in decision-making. Joint decision-making may be more work for both parties and take more time, but it is also more likely to result in appropriate actions. Otherwise, patients may have unrealistic expectations of what they will gain from the procedure. Conversely, surgeons may be unconsciously swayed by the financial rewards involved in doing an operation to recommend replacement even if it is not actually the best option for the patient.
