Muti-factor analysis of sport activity level after high tibial osteotomy

Background Although many studies have shown that high tibial osteotomy is appropriate for active patients, there are limited multifactorial studies on patients' sport activity level after HTO in general population. Methods 158 patients who underwent HTO for knee osteoarthritis between January 2016 and December 2019 are included, with a 36-month follow-up. Information was collected from X-rays and questionnaire. The independent variables were age, sex, breadwinner (provide more than 50% income), sport activity level when the knee was pain-free before and after surgery, concomitant meniscal treatment history, Lysholm knee score, desire level for returning to sports. The 158 cases are divided into three groups according to their sports participation before and after operation, Chi-square tests and ANOVA analysis were adopted to identify the effect of these variables on sport activity level after HTO, and factors with statistical differences and clinical relevancies, or provided by previous research were assessed with the ordinal logistic regression analysis. Results According to sport activity level analysis, 28(17.7%) patients were categorized into the sport level-reduced group, 97(61.4%) patients into the sport level-unchanged group, and 33(20.9%) patients into the sport level-improved group. Upon ordinal logistic regression analysis, postoperative MA%, age, BMI, and preoperative Lysholm knee score were statistically significant. Conclusions Higher postoperative MA%, younger age, lower BMI, and lower Lysholm score are associate with improvement on activity level after HTO. This finding provides valuable references in operation option and rehabilitation planning.

Automated summary

This study aimed to evaluate the sport activity level of patients after high tibial osteotomy (HTO). The results showed that 17.7% of patients had a decreased sport level, 61.4% had an unchanged sport level, and 20.9% had an improved sport level after surgery. Age, BMI, preoperative Lysholm knee score, and postoperative medial tibial slope were significantly associated with the postoperative sport activity level.