Differences in Outcomes Between Initial Responders and Subsequent Responders to Health Questionnaires for Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty: An Australian Tertiary Institutional Registry Study

Abstract

Background: Patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) questionnaires in national arthroplasty registries often have low response rates leading to questions about data reliability. In Australia, the SMART (St. Vincent's Melbourne Arthroplasty Outcomes) registry captures all elective total hip (THA) and total knee (TKA) arthroplasty patients with an approximate 98% response rate for preoperative and 12-month PROM scores. This high response rate is due to dedicated registry staff following up patients who do not initially respond (subsequent responders). This study compared initial responders to subsequent responders to find differences in 12-month PROM outcomes for THA and TKA. Methods: All elec..