Who should have knee joint replacement surgery for osteoarthritis?

Abstract

Knee joint replacement is an effective and cost-effective intervention for severe symptomatic osteoarthritis of the knee joint. However, utilisation rates vary hugely, there are no indications, it is difficult to know when (in the course of arthritis) it is best to operate, and some 10-20% of people who have this surgery are unhappy with the outcome, and have persistent pain. In this article we briefly discuss the variations in utilization of knee joint replacement, and then outline four different approaches to the selection and prioritisation of patients for this procedure. Consensus criteria, including appropriateness criteria are available, but if produced by professionals alone, they may..