The course of rheumatoid arthritis varies from mild disease to severe joint destructive variant that progresses rapidly, eventually leading to unremitting pain and joint deformity. In advanced disease, total knee arthroplasty has proven to be the most successful intervention that reduces knee pain and improves physical function in rheumatoid arthritis patients. However, as rheumatoid arthritis patients carry additional potential for late complications, many important considerations regarding preoperative evaluation and surgical technique must be taken into account in order to improve the results of total knee arthroplasty in this subgroup of patients.
Background
Meniscus surgeries are frequently performed in orthopaedics. However, their current status is not well known in many countries, including Korea. This study aimed to investigate the national trends of meniscus surgery in Korea.
Methods
Information from the national database was acquired through the Korean Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service from 2010 to 2017. All cases coded as meniscectomy or meniscus repair were included. The total number and incidence of cases of meniscus surgery per 100,000 persons were determined, and the results were stratified by age and gender. The meniscus repair ratio for the total number of meniscus surgeries was evaluated.
Results
The total number and incidence of meniscectomy cases were 65,752 and 137, respectively, in 2010, which increased to 74,088 and 154, respectively, in 2017. The number of meniscectomies increased by 12.67% in 8 years. The total number and incidence of meniscus repair cases were 9,055 and 18, respectively, in 2010, which increased to 14,947 and 31 in 2017. The number of meniscus repairs increased by 65.04%. The meniscus repair ratio was 12.1% in 2010, which increased to 16.8% in 2017. The highest peak was noted for patients who underwent meniscus surgeries in their 50s and 60s. Meniscectomy was performed more frequently in women (57%) than in men (43%), whereas repair was performed more frequently in men (54%) than in women (46%) over the study period.
Conclusion
The total number and incidence of meniscus surgeries increased from 2010 to 2017; the number and incidence of meniscus repair procedures increased more rapidly than those of meniscectomy, with the peak treatment age for both surgeries being in the 50s and 60s. The current study will contribute to understanding the epidemiology of meniscus surgery, its prevention, and cost-saving measures in Korea.
We aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of knee osteoarthritis patients according to drug adherence; and to find out the factors the affecting those outcomes. We analyzed the drug adherence and clinical outcomes in 1,334 primary knee osteoarthritis patients who took non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) for 3 weeks. Clinical outcomes of Pain Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) and EQ-5D were compared at baseline and 3 weeks’ follow-up between the two groups of adherent group and non-adherent group (1,167 vs. 167 patients). Logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the factors affecting the adherence, and the reasons for the non-adherence were asked. The follow-up clinical outcomes of NRS and KOOS symptom, pain and activity of daily life were significantly higher in the adherence group (P = 0.003, P = 0.048, P = 0.005, and P = 0.003, respectively). The adherence was better in the elderly and in the male group (P = 0.042 and P = 0.034, respectively) and the top reason for no strict adherence was “symptom improved” (21.5%) followed by side effects. In this study, the patients with better adherence to NSAIDs showed better outcomes compared to those with poor adherence. This study can contribute to the patient education for the pharmacological treatment in knee OA patients.
Purpose: To evaluate the effects and problems of venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis with a reduced dosage and administration period in Korean total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients. Materials and Methods: We analyzed 135 consecutive TKA patients with three different VTE prophylaxis regimens. Group dalteparin-aspirin (DA) injected dalteparin for the fi rst 2 days, followed by taking aspirin for the next 5 days, Group aspirin (A) was on aspirin and Group dalteparin (D) on dalteparin 7 days postoperatively. We evaluated the incidence of VTE and safety among the 3 groups.
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