PREDICTING QUALITY-OF-LIFE OUTCOMES FOLLOWING TOTAL JOINT ARTHROPLASTY - LIMITATIONS OF THE SF-36 HEALTH-STATUS QUESTIONNAIRE

A group of 114 patients undergoing total hip and knee arthroplasty wer e evaluated to assess the effect of total joint arthroplasty on qualit y of life, as measured by the SF-36 Health status Questionnaire, and t o determine the predictive relationship between preoperative and posto perative scores. A highly significant improvement was seen comparing p reoperative with postoperative scores at 2 years for physical function , social function, physical role function, emotional role function, me ntal health, energy, and pain. Despite a significant change in health status (P less than or equal to .001), no change was seen in the patie nt's health perception (P = .61). Regression analysis failed to indica te a predictive relationship between preoperative and postoperative sc ores for any scale. Total joint arthroplasty dramatically improves the quality of life and function of patients afflicted with arthritis; ho wever, because of the poor ability of the SF-36 to predict postoperati ve improvement on an individual basis, it cannot be used alone to dete rmine treatment selection.