Patient Satisfaction After Total Knee Replacement: A Systematic Review.

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Patient-Reported Outcomes
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Patient satisfaction reporting after total knee replacement (TKR) is highly variable.
• Existing literature lacks consistent quality and methodology in satisfaction reporting.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review patient satisfaction literature following TKR.
• To evaluate the evidence quality for patient satisfaction after TKR.
• To identify key predictors of patient satisfaction post-TKR.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of MEDLINE database, yielding 1219 initial studies.
• Inclusion criteria: English, TKR for osteoarthritis, patient-reported satisfaction outcome.
• Assessment of study demographics, satisfaction reporting methods, and influencing factors.

Main Results:

• 208 studies (95,560 patients) met criteria; 53.8% published in the last 3 years.
• Ordinal scales were common; only 13% used validated surveys.
• 83% reported >80% satisfaction; functional outcome predicted satisfaction, while pre-operative mood predicted dissatisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Increasing publications on TKR patient satisfaction exist, but evidence quality is often low.
• Heterogeneous measurement methods and limited use of validated instruments are prevalent.
• High satisfaction (80-100%) is generally reported, driven by post-operative function and pain relief.