Development of application and surgical technique of total knee arthroplasties: a systematic comparative analysis using worldwide registers

Abstract

Abstract Purpose The aim was to compare total knee arthroplasty (TKA) between countries with regard to epidemiologic data and surgical technique by the use of worldwide registers and compare findings with a previous report after one decade. Methods A systematic search was carried out in November 2022 and compared to previous reports from 2010. We extracted data regarding implanted TKAs, patients’ age distribution, procedure types, fixation and revision rates. After identification of 28 national arthroplasty registers, 8of them, namely Australia, Canada, Denmark, England and Wales, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland and Sweden, offered sufficient data and were included in final analysis. Results A large variation was found in the annual number of implantations per 100,000 inhabitants with a range from 77 to 210.2 (mean 132.8). The fixation type varied strongly as well, e.g. over 95% of totally cemented TKAs in Sweden versus 61.2% cemented fixation in Denmark. Another significant difference was the use of patellar resurfacing in TKA, ranging from 47.3% (Canada) using a patellar button in TKA to less than 5% (Sweden). Within the period of one decade, the mean overall number of annual implantations increased (10%), whilst relative number of revisions decreased, the use of cemented TKA decreased from 87 to 74%, and the use of patella button remained largely inhomogeneous. Conclusion Comparison of arthroplasty registers revealed large differences regarding the annual number of primary TKAs per inhabitant as well as primary TKA procedure types with an increase of annual implantations, decrease of relative number of revisions, and a decrease of the use of cemented systems over the period of one decade.