Functional outcomes of total knee arthroplasty and the effect of obesity in Abha, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Treatment of knee osteoarthritis (OA) is challenging, with knee arthroplasty considered an effective treatment at an advanced stage of the disease, though it is responsible for large health costs. This study aims to the functional outcomes of primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) in Abha city and also to identify the effect of obesity on the development of primary TKA. Methods: A retrospective cohort was conducted targeting all patients who underwent TKA in Abha city from July 2018 to November 2021 from the orthopedic department at Aseer Central Hospital and Khamis General Hospital. The questionnaire employed besides the demographic data covered TKA-relevant data, including side, post-surgical complications, and adherence to post-surgical physiotherapy. Knee arthroplasty was assessed based on the Oxford Knee Scale and a pre-existing medical record. Results: A total of 120 patients who had undergone TKA were included. Patients' ages ranged from 40 to 90 years, with a mean age of 64.8 ± 11.9. The exact 85 (70.8%) patients were females. An exact 30 (25%) experienced post-surgical complications. Exact 89.2% of the patients reported that they could not kneel and get up again afterward easily, 81.7% experienced mild to severe pain in their knee, and 79.2% could not walk down a flight of stairs. The overall oxford knee score for the study patients ranged from 5 to 48 with a mean score of 29.5 ± 10.3. Conclusion: This study showed that the functional outcome among patients who had undergone TKA was not satisfactory, with no significant role of obesity in the reported functional development.