Effect of COVID-19 disruptions to in-person care after TKA

Editor's Note

This study from the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, finds that halting in-person office visits and physical therapy (PT) after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) because of COVID-19 did not affect complication rates or outcomes.

A total of 624 study patients who had a TKA between January 1, 2020, and March 15, 2020, were compared to a control group of 558 patients who had a TKA between January 1, 2019, and March 15, 2019.

Study patients had significantly fewer in-person visits and PT sessions and used telehealth more frequently than the control group.

The researchers found that the:

• rate of 90-day complications was lower in study patients than the control group (3.5% vs 5.9%)
• rates of manipulation under anesthesia were similar between groups
• outcomes reported by patients at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 1 year, were similar between groups.

The researchers concluded that disruptions to care after TKA seemed to have no major consequences on clinical outcomes for TKA patients. Pre-pandemic, post-discharge protocols may over-emphasize in-person visits and PT, they say.