The Brief Pain Inventory Can Be Reliably Used to Classify Patient Satisfaction After Total Knee Arthroplasty: A...

Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is a widely employed surgical intervention for advanced knee osteoarthritis, aiming to alleviate pain and improve function. Patient satisfaction post-TKA is a crucial aspect of evaluating the success of the procedure. The primary objective of this research was to categorize postoperative Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) scores based on patient satisfaction levels one year after TKA.

This retrospective study involved the identification of 1,007 patients from the databases of three orthopedic centers. The mean age of the cohort was 64 years, with 415 men and 592 women. The study evaluated patient satisfaction one year after TKA surgery by directly asking patients about their satisfaction levels. The responses, collected on a four-point Likert scale ("very satisfied," "satisfied," "neutral," and "dissatisfied"), were used to categorize the BPI scores into specific groups: excellent, good, general, and poor. There were three distinct thresholds identified through the utilization of receiver operating characteristic curves, serving to demarcate the transitions between the very satisfied and satisfied, satisfied and general, and general and dissatisfied groups.

Patient satisfaction levels at one year post-TKA were categorized as very satisfied (60.4%), satisfied (25.0%), neutral (9.8%), and dissatisfied (4.8%). The study established thresholds for BPI scores based on patient satisfaction, providing classifications of excellent (< 12.5), good (12.5 to 16.5), general (16.5 to 26.5), and poor (> 26.5).

This study contributes valuable insights into the categorization of postoperative BPI scores based on patient satisfaction, offering a meaningful tool for clinicians to interpret BPI scores after TKA.