No consistent association between patient-reported outcome measures and coronal alignment following total knee...

Total knee arthroplasty is a common procedure for treating knee conditions; however, significant proportions of patients report dissatisfaction post-operatively. Recent data suggests accurate coronal alignment may not be essential for optimizing prosthesis functionality and survivorship. This narrative review utilized a systematic approach to analyse the literature comparing post-operative coronal alignment and PROMs following knee replacement.

A systematic search of MEDLINE was utilized to identify publications that directly compare the relationship between coronal alignment and PROMs.

Thirty-one eligible publications were identified. Variability in both study design and findings were observed, with no studies being without risk of bias.

Given this variability and lack of consensus among the reported publications, current literature is ill-equipped to describe the exact nature of the relationship between coronal alignment and PROMs following TKA. Further research would ideally utilize both validated generic, and knee-specific PROMs, make use of pre-operative outcome data, and standardized follow-up to develop reliable assessments of coronal alignment and its impact upon both functionality and quality of life.