The impacts of pre-surgery wait for total knee replacement on pain, function and health-related quality of life six months after surgery

Objective The purpose of the current study was to assess, in patients scheduled for primary total knee replacement (TKR), the effects of pre‐surgery waiting time on pain and functional limitations related to the knee joint undergoing surgery, on health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) and on contralateral knee pain 6 months after surgery. Method A total of 141 patients scheduled for TKR were recruited from three hospitals in Quebec City, Canada, and followed up until 6 months after surgery. Pre‐surgery wait, defined as the time between enrolment on the pre‐surgery waiting list and surgery, was considered in four categories (≤3, >3–6, >6–9, >9 months). Pain and functional limitations were measured with the Western Ontario and McMaster Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). HRQoL was measured with the SF‐36. Results Mean pre‐surgery waiting time was 184 (SD: 120.8) days. Six months after TKR, a significant difference was seen between the four groups of pre‐surgery wait in terms of HRQoL SF‐36 role physical F(3, 136) = 2.74, P = 0.046] and contralateral knee WOMAC pain F(3, 136) = 5.78, P = 0.0009] scores. Participants with the longest pre‐surgery wait (>9 months) showed the worst scores 6 months after TKR. Conclusions Longer pre‐surgery waiting time had a negative clinically important impact on HRQoL and contralateral knee pain 6 months after surgery.