Correlation between radiographic assessment and quality of life after total knee arthroplasty

The correlation between radiographic and clinical outcome was investigated for total knee arthroplasty. One hundred three total knee arthroplasties in 98 patients were investigated at an average follow-up of 10.8 years (range, 2-17 years). For radiographic evaluation the Radiographic Evaluation System of the Knee Society was used. For assessment of clinical outcome four disease-specific scores, and the Nottingham Health Profile were applied. A significant correlation was found between the extent of radiolucent lines of the tibial component and the Nottingham Health Profile (correlation coefficient: 0.61, p<0.0001). For the disease-specific scores the correlation was low (correlation coefficient: 0.30-0.50). For the prosthetic alignment no significant correlation was found (p<0.05). The current results show that a correlation was found between radiological assessment and several clinical scores. We suggest that a quality-of-life score should be included in the follow-up evaluation of total knee arthroplasty.