Total Knee Replacement in Young Patients: Survival and Causes of Revision in a Registry Population

The incidence of total knee replacements (TKRs) in young patients is increasing. Few reports described encouraging results and acceptable survival rates. However, many concerns still persist, in particular about the high rates of infection and aseptic loosening. Aim of this article was to investigate the survival of TKRs in patients aged 45 years or younger in a registry population.

The Emilia-Romagna registry RIPO was enquired about TKRs in patients ≤45 years; 238 TKRs were evaluated at a mean follow-up of 5.4 years (range 0-15.6 years), examining the features of the patients involved, the survival rate, and the reasons for revision of the knee implants.

The TKRs were generally performed in men, in private hospitals, and almost in half of the cases for other causes rather than primary osteoarthritis. The mean age was 40 years. Bicompartmental, cemented posterior-stabilized implants with fixed bearing were preferred. The survival rate was higher than 90% in the first 7 years, and then it decremented. The choice of implant did not apparently influence the survivorship. The final outcomes were acceptable, substantially in line with the previous literature about young patients. Twenty-one revisions occurred (8.8%), in particular 8 cases for aseptic loosening and 7 TKRs for infection. The rate of revision was higher than in overall population and even in some young cohorts.

TKRs in patients aged 45 years or younger seem a promising procedure, although the high rates of septic and aseptic loosening should be carefully evaluated. Prospective, well-designed studies are required to confirm and investigate these preliminary findings.