Factors Related to Expectations in Individuals Waiting for Total Knee Arthroplasty

There is no consensus on how age and expectations influence planning for total knee arthroplasty (TKA). This study developed and evaluated a new expectation questionnaire and assessed the relationship between preoperative expectations and patient characteristics.

The questionnaire evaluated expectations for mobility, pain, participation, and rate of recovery after surgery. Fifty-five participants completed a 6-minute walk test and expectation questionnaire prior to TKA; 17 participants repeated the questionnaire one week later for reliability testing. Analysis of the questionnaire included intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC), homoscedasticity, skewness, kurtosis, multicollinearity, and descriptive measures. A four-step hierarchical linear regression was completed to determine the relationship of patient age, BMI, previous contralateral TKA, and 6-minute walk test scores to expectations.

The questionnaire showed good/high test-retest reliability (ICC 0.84; 95% CI: 0.57, 0.94; p > 0.001). The final model was significant in predicting expectation scores R = 0.19 (p = 0.017).

This questionnaire reliably measures patient expectations before TKA; however, further research is needed. Although we anticipated younger age to be related to higher expectations, higher function prior to TKA appears to be more strongly associated with higher expectations.