Total knee arthroplasty for primary knee osteoarthritis: changing pattern over the past 15 years

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To review the epidemiology of total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for primary knee osteoarthritis and the change of patient characteristics over the last 15 years. METHODS: A retrospective review of all patients who underwent primary TKA for primary knee osteoarthritis was conducted in our institution from January 2000 to December 2014. RESULTS: In all, 2588 TKAs were performed on 2098 patients (1599 female, 499 male). The annual number of TKAs increased from 91 in 2000 to 377 in 2014. The annual number of patients increased from 58 in 2000 to 317 in 2014. The mean age of the patients did not show significant change over the past 15 years, but the proportion of patients >80 years showed a significant increase from 4.8% (2000 to 2004) to 12.5% (2005 to 2009) to 15.6% (2010 to 2014), while the proportion of patients <60 years decreased significantly from 17.1% (2000 to 2004) to 13.4% (2005 to 2009) to 10.1% (2010 to 2014). The lower limb mechanical axis malalignment did not show significant changes, from 15.1° deviation in 2000, to 14.8° in 2004, 12.9° in 2009, 14.7° in 2011, and 13.3° in 2014. CONCLUSIONS: There was an increasing trend towards TKAs, both in terms of number of operations and patients. The number of younger patients having TKA decreased over the last 15 years, whereas the number of those >80 years increased significantly.