Research Paper Title

Occupational Outcomes and Revision Rates for Medial Unicondylar Knee Arthroplasty in US Military Servicemembers.

Background

This study evaluates return to work and revision rates for medial unicondylar knee arthroplasty (UKA) in a high-demand military cohort.

Methods

Patient demographic and clinical variables were isolated from the medical records of active-duty military servicemembers with at least 2 years of postoperative follow-up and correlated with return to work, medial UKA survivorship, and perioperative complications.

The medial UKA annual revision rate was calculated as the percentage of implants revised per observed component year.

Results

A total of 39 servicemembers underwent 46 primary medial UKAs (32 unilateral and 7 bilateral) with a mean follow-up of 3.9 (2.0-6.6) years.

At a minimum of 2 years postoperatively, 33 (85%) servicemembers returned to military service or successfully completed their service obligation. Older servicemembers (odds ratio [OR] = 0.67; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.45, 0.99) had a significantly decreased OR for knee-related medical separation.

Nine servicemembers (20%) had conversion to TKA at an average of 2.4 (range, 0.6-5.6) years with a medial UKA annual revision rate of 5%.

Conclusions

When compared with Navy/Air Force, Army/Marine servicemembers had an increased TKA conversion rate (OR = 5.40; 95% CI: 1.13, 25.81). Older age decreased the likelihood of medical separation and Army/Marines service was the sole risk factor associated with conversion to TKA. The level of evidence is IV, therapeutic case series.

Reference

Rodriguez, M., Heida, K., Rider, D.E., Goodman, G.P., Waterman, B.R. & Belmont Jr, P.J. (2021) Occupational Outcomes and Revision Rates for Medial Unicondylar Knee Arthroplasty in U.S. Military Servicemembers. doi: 10.1055/s-0041-1723968. Online ahead of print.