Epidemiological and Clinical Profile of Patients Submitted to Total Knee Arthroplasty

Abstract

Objective To define the epidemiological profile and the associated comorbidities of patients submitted to total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in two reference hospitals. Methods During the present cross-sectional observational study, 294 patients submitted to TKA were evaluated in 2 tertiary care hospitals. The diagnosis of self-reported comorbidities was collected by direct interview. The Functional Comorbidity Index (FCI) and the 5-Factor Modified Frailty Index (mFI-5) were calculated. The incidence of comorbidities and their relationship with the calculated indexes were evaluated. Results Most of the patients in the sample were women (p = 0.000) between the seventh and eighth decades of life. Systemic arterial hypertension was the most common pathology, followed by obesity and diabetes mellitus. The FCI presented a direct relationship with females (p = 0.038) and obesity (p < 0.001). The mFI-5 was only associated to obesity (p = 0.022), demonstrating a higher chance of complications in this group. Conclusion Patients undergoing TKA are essentially carriers of clinical comorbidities that can negatively influence functional results and compromise the safety of the procedure. The identification of risk factors can contribute to the safety and better selection of TKA candidates.