Quality of life five years after total or partial knee arthroplasty

Aim: Multiple aspects of health-related quality of life were assessed in elderly patients after total or partial knee arthroplasty. Method: 187 subjects who had undergone knee arthroplasty 5 years ago were asked to fill out 3 questionnaires, the Nottingham Health Profile, the SF-36 Health Survey and the Funktionsfragebogen Hannover. Results were compared to standard data. The impact of gender and age was analyzed, and 3 different types of prostheses were compared. Results: Response rate was 74% (n = 138). Regarding the main symptoms pain and subjective function, as well as almost all other aspects, quality of life proved to be significantly reduced compared to the age-matched general population. Correlations between age and quality of life scales were low. Different types of implants led to similar results in all scales but one. Conclusion: 5 years after knee arthroplasty the quality of life is markedly reduced compared to the general population. The impact of age, gender, and type of implant is low. In our sample, the SF-36 showed methodological advantages compared to the NHP for the measurement of subjective pain and function.