Total Joint Arthroplasty in the Patient with Inflammatory Arthritis: A Review

Inflammatory arthritis is a family of conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile inflammatory arthritis, and spondyloarthropathies affecting both the large and small joints. Total joint arthroplasty is commonly used for surgical management of end-stage disease. Preoperative and postoperative considerations as well as perioperative medical management and intraoperative treatment of patients with inflammatory arthritis undergoing total joint arthroplasty are reviewed. Although individualized, multidisciplinary approaches to treatment are necessary due to the complex nature of the disease and the varying levels of severity, patients generally have favorable outcomes with respect to pain scores and functional outcomes.