Modifiable Risk Factors in Primary Joint Arthroplasty Increase 90-Day Cost of Care

To update the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2000 recommendations for hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA) and develop new recommendations for hand OA. A list of pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic modalities commonly used to manage knee, hip, and hand OA as well as clinical scenarios representing patients with symptomatic hand, hip, and knee OA were generated. Systematic evidence-based literature reviews were conducted by a working group at the Institute of Population Health, University of Ottawa, and updated by ACR staff to include additions to bibliographic databases through December 31, 2010. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach, a formal process to rate scientific evidence and to develop recommendations that are as evidence based as possible, was used by a Technical Expert Panel comprised of various stakeholders to formulate the recommendations for the use of nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic modalities for OA of the hand, hip, and knee. Both “strong” and “conditional” recommendations were made for OA management. Modalities conditionally recommended for the management of hand OA include instruction in joint protection techniques, provision of assistive devices, use of thermal modalities and trapeziometacarpal joint splints, and use of oral and topical nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), tramadol, and topical capsaicin. Nonpharmacologic modalities strongly recommended for the management of knee OA were aerobic, aquatic, and/or resistance exercises as well as weight loss for overweight patients. Nonpharmacologic modalities conditionally recommended for knee OA included medial wedge insoles for valgus knee OA, subtalar strapped lateral insoles for varus knee OA, medially directed patellar taping, manual therapy, walking aids, thermal agents, tai chi, self management programs, and psychosocial interventions. Pharmacologic modalities conditionally recommended for the initial management of patients with knee OA included acetaminophen, oral and topical NSAIDs, tramadol, and intraarticular corticosteroid injections; intraarticular hyaluronate injections, duloxetine, and opioids were conditionally recommended in patients who had an inadequate response to initial therapy. Opioid analgesics were strongly recommended in patients who were either not willing to undergo or had contraindications for total joint arthroplasty after having failed medical therapy. Recommendations for hip OA were similar to those for the management of knee OA. These recommendations are based on the consensus judgment of clinical experts from a wide range of disciplines, informed by available evidence, balancing the benefits and harms of both nonpharmacologic and pharmacologic modalities, and incorporating their preferences and values. It is hoped that these recommendations will be utilized by health care providers involved in the management of patients with OA. Copyright © 2012 by the American College of Rheumatology.

It is well known that citizens of developed countries are more likely to be overweight than they were 20 years ago. The most serious health problems are not associated with overweight or moderate obesity, however, but with clinically severe or morbid obesity (e.g. more than 100 pounds (45kg) overweight). There is no reason to expect that morbid obesity trends parallel overweight or moderate obesity. If morbid obesity is a rare pathological condition that has biological causes, the more than 10-fold increase in bariatric surgery procedures over the past eight years in the USA could have even lowered the prevalence of morbid obesity-and may very well stem the problem in other countries. To estimate trends for extreme weight categories (BMI>40 and >50) for the period between 1986 and 2005 in the USA, and to investigate whether trends have changed since 2000. Data from The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (a random-digit telephone survey of the household population of the USA), for the period from 1986 to 2005, were analysed. The main outcome measure was body mass index (BMI), calculated from self-reported weight and height. From 2000 to 2005, the prevalence of obesity (self-reported BMI over 30) increased by 24%. However, the prevalence of a (self-reported) BMI over 40 (about 100 pounds (45kg) overweight) increased by 50% and the prevalence of a BMI over 50 increased by 75%, two and three times faster, respectively. The heaviest BMI groups have been increasing at the fastest rates for 20 years. The prevalence of clinically severe obesity is increasing at a much faster rate among adults in the USA than is the prevalence of moderate obesity. This is consistent with the public health idea that the population weight distribution is shifting, which disproportionately increases extreme weight categories. Because comorbidities and resulting service use are much higher among severely obese individuals, the widely published trends for overweight/obesity underestimate the consequences for population health. The aggressive and costly expansion of bariatric surgery in recent years has had no visible effect on containing morbid obesity rates in the USA.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine the incidence rates of, and identify risk factors for, thirty-day postoperative mortality and complications among more than 15,000 patients who underwent a primary unilateral total knee arthroplasty as documented in the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS NSQIP).