Factors predicting patient satisfaction 2 years after total knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis

Objective: To identify factors predicting patient satisfaction 2 years after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) for osteoarthritis. Methods: Prospective multicenter study of patients followed up for 2 years after TKA for osteoarthritis. We evaluated pain and function (Lequesne index and WOMAC) at baseline and after 2 years. After 2 years, the patients rated their satisfaction as a percentage, with values greater than 50% defining good satisfaction. Factors associated with good satisfaction were identified by univariate analyses followed by multivariate analysis. Results: Of 299 patients, 264 completed the study (26 were lost to follow-up, six died, and three refused the 2-year evaluation), including 237 (89.8%) with satisfaction scores greater than 50%. Highly significant improvements were found after 2 years versus baseline in the Lequesne index (7.9 vs. 14.5, P < 0.0001) and WOMAC index (26.3 vs. 51.3, P < 0.0001). There were 26 (9.8%) complications. Factors significantly associated with good satisfaction in the multivariate model were absence of complications (P = 0.004), body mass index less than 27 kg/m(2) (P = 0.015), high radiological joint narrowing score (P = 0.038), age greater or equal to 70 years (P = 0.038), and absence of depression at the 2-year evaluation (P = 0.002). Conclusion: We report the first prospective multicenter study done in France to assess pain and function in a large number of patients treated with TKA for osteoarthritis. Our results indicate a high success rate. We identified three factors that predict patient satisfaction and can be assessed before surgery (age greater than 70 years, absence of obesity, and severe joint space narrowing). (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier Masson SAS on behalf of the Societe Francaise de Rhumatologie.