A study found that women have a higher likelihood to require OA-related healthcare in the 12 months before their total knee arthroplasty operation.
Here are seven things to know:
1. The study analyzed gender differences in the knee osteoarthritis-related healthcare resources and treatments in the year prior to TKA
2. Information was gathered from 2005 to 2012 reports by Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters and Medicare Supplemental and Coordination of Benefit databases.
3. The average age of the 244,059 involved patients was 64.8 years old and 61.2 percent were female.
4. The results showed that in the 12 months preceding TKA, women were:
- 30 percent more likely than men to receive narcostic analgesic
- 20 percent more like to receive nonnarcotic analgesics
- 31 percent more likely to receive corticosteroid injection
- 18 percent more likely to receive hyaluronic acid injection
- 19 percent more likely to receive knee magnetic resonance imaging
- 29 percent more likely to receive a physical therapy evaluation
- 39 percent more likely to receive an occupational therapy evaluation.
5. The study's results showed that women have a higher need for knee osteoarthritis-related healthcare in the 12 months preceding TKA.
6. While the researchers didn't determine a reason for this discrepancy, they noted that further investigation should be carried out to highlight biases in advanced knee osteoarthritis management.
7. The University of Chicago's Harpreet S. Bawa, MD, Jack W. Weick, and Douglas R. Dirschl, MD conducted the study.
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Orthopedic surgeon to know: Dr. Joshua Lindsey of The Orthopedic Institute at Southwest Health