DETERMINANTS OF 6-12 MONTH POSTOPERATIVE FUNCTIONAL STATUS AND PAIN AFTER ELECTIVE TOTAL HIP-REPLACEMENT

Objective: The goal of this pilot project was to quantify outcomes of elective total hip replacement through risk adjustment modeling, Desig n: A retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent elective tot al hip replacement (THR) during 1991 at the Orthopaedic and Arthritic Hospital in Toronto, Study participants: All patients undergoing elect ive total hip replacement with a confirmed diagnosis of osteoarthritis were asked to participate in the study; 193 patients agreed, Outcome measures: Participants were asked to complete the WOMAC Osteoarthritis Index and the RAND 36-item Health Survey 6 months to 1 year post-oper atively. Pre-operative information on pain and functional status was o btained from the patients' medical record, Results: The results indica te that 93% of patients studied reported at least one significant co-m orbidity, The mean preoperative pain score was 7.5 on a 0-10 scale and average change in pain was 4.8, Regression analyses indicate that inc reased body mass index is associated with lower post-operative functio nal status and increased post-operative pain, The amount of pain relie f the patient was able to obtain pre-operatively using nonsurgical int erventions was associated with a better outcome. (C) 1997 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd.