Does clinical presentation predict response to a nonsurgical chronic disease management program for endstage hip and knee osteoarthritis?

Abstract

Objective. To identify baseline characteristics of participants who will respond favorably following 6 months of participation in a chronic disease management program for hip and knee osteoarthritis (OA). Methods. This prospective cohort study assessed 559 participants at baseline and following 6 months of participation in the Osteoarthritis Chronic Care Program. Response was defined as the minimal clinically important difference of an 18% and 9-point absolute improvement in the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index global score. Multivariate logistic regression modeling was used to identify predictors of response. Results. Complete data were available for 308 participants. Those who withdrew within the study period were imputed as nonresponders. Three variables were independently associated with response: signal joint (knee vs hip), sex, and high level of comorbidity. Index joint and sex were significant in the multivariate model, but the model was not a sensitive predictor of response. Conclusion. Strong predictors of response to a chronic disease management program for hip and knee OA were not identified. The significant predictors that were found should be considered in future studies.