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Evaluating waiting time effect on health outcomes at admission: a prospective randomized study on patients with osteoarthritis of the knee joint
Author(s) -
Hirvonen Johanna,
Blom Marja,
Tuominen Ulla,
Seitsalo Seppo,
Lehto Matti,
Paavolainen Pekka,
Hietaniemi Kalevi,
Rissanen Pekka,
Sintonen Harri
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of evaluation in clinical practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.737
H-Index - 73
eISSN - 1365-2753
pISSN - 1356-1294
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2753.2006.00745.x
Subject(s) - medicine , osteoarthritis , quality of life (healthcare) , physical therapy , randomized controlled trial , surgery , alternative medicine , nursing , pathology
Aims To evaluate the effect of waiting on health‐related quality of life (HRQoL), pain and physical function in patients awaiting primary total knee replacement (TKR) due to osteoarthritis. Methods Some 438 patients awaiting TKR were randomized to a short waiting time (WT) group (≤3 months) or a non‐fixed WT group. In the final assessment, 310 patients (213 women) with a mean age of 68 years were included. HRQoL was measured on being placed on the waiting list and again at hospital admission using the generic 15D. Patients’ self‐report pain and physical function were evaluated using a scale modified from the Knee Society Clinical Rating System. Results The median WTs for patients with short and non‐fixed WT were 73 days (range 8–600 days) and 266 days (range 28–818 days), respectively. At admission, as assessed by the intention‐to‐treat analysis, there were no statistically significant differences between the groups in the 15D total score and disease‐specific pain and function. Conclusions Our study showed that longer WT did not result in worse pre‐operative HRQoL.