FRIDAY, Dec. 3 (HealthDay News) -- A standardized U.S. national
registry of joint replacement devices would improve patient safety
and quality of care, a new study finds.
Researchers examined 80,000 total knee and hip joint
replacements and 5,000 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) knee
reconstruction procedures in Kaiser Permanente's national
registries.
During the study period, the registries were used to track eight
device recalls and advisories and proved critical in quickly
identifying and following up with affected patients.
Using the ACL surgery registry, the researchers pinpointed the
three most common reasons for re-operations of ACL reconstruction:
meniscus injury, stiffness, and device removal.
"Our findings demonstrate the critical impact of registries and
the important role they play in counseling patients, identifying
risk factors, tracking implanted devices during recalls and
assessing comparative effectiveness of devices," lead author
Elizabeth Paxton, director of surgical outcomes and analysis at
Kaiser Permanente, said in a Kaiser news release.
She and her colleagues concluded that a registry of the more
than 600,000 total knee and hip replacements performed each year in
the U.S. could improve patient safety and quality of care and
provide a foundation for future research projects that would
contribute to better outcomes.
Sweden, Finland, Norway, Australia and Denmark all have national
joint replacement device registries, according to the researchers,
but the United States does not.
The study appears in the November issue of the
Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
More information
The U.S. National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and
Skin Diseases has more about
joint replacement surgery.