The effect of comorbidities and age on functional outcomes after total knee arthroplasty in the octogenarian: A matched cohort study

Abstract

Introduction: According to the World Health Organization data repository, the average life expectancy at birth for Singapore in 2015 has risen to 83.4 years, and many octogenarians (OG) remain active socioeconomically. The aim of this study is to compare the improvement and the impact of comorbidities on functional recovery after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) between OG and their younger counterparts. Methods: This is a retrospective study of prospectively collected data from a single institution arthroplasty register. Between January 2006 and December 2011, 209 OG with primary knee osteoarthritis underwent TKA. Each OG (mean age 82 ± 2.1) was then carefully matched to a younger control group (YG, mean age 66 ± 4.5). Their postoperative outcomes measured include Oxford Knee Score (OKS), SF36-Physical Function (SF-PF), and knee society rating score comprising of Knee Score (KS) and Function Score (FS). Their respective degrees of improvement were compared and adjusted for their baseline comorbidities, measured using the Deyo-Charlson Comorbidity Index (D-CCI). Results: There were more comorbidities among the OG (P