Socioeconomic issues and demographics of total knee arthroplasty revision

Despite rising numbers of total knee arthroplasty revision (TKAR) procedures there remains a paucity of information regarding the relationships between total knee arthroplasty failure and socioeconomic and educational status, demographics, general health and functional disability. We performed a multicenter prospective study of 290 consecutive TKAR patients in order to determine whether they differed from the population they were drawn from in terms of socioeconomic or educational status, race or gender. Secondary aims were to establish the relative comorbid status of this population, social supports and their general health status compared to national norms and their modes of failure. Our cohort consisted of 137 males and 153 females with a mean age of 68.6 years (range, 34-85 years), substantial overall functional disability according to the SF-36 and a large average number of comorbidities at baseline. We found a relative overrepresentation of patients of comparatively low socioeconomic and educational status and also of Caucasian patients in the TKAR population. This large prospective investigation demonstrates demographic features associated with TKA failure and provides a platform for further investigations on the effect demographic characteristics have on the outcomes of TKAR.