Early recovery following lower limb arthroplasty: Qualitative interviews with patients undergoing elective hip and knee replacement surgery. Initial phase in the development of a patient‐reported outcome measure

Abstract Background Hip and knee replacement are effective procedures for end-stage arthritis that has not responded to medical management. However, until now, there have been no validated, patient-reported tools to measure early recovery in this growing patient population. The process of development and psychometric evaluation of the Oxford Arthroplasty Early Recovery Score (OARS), a 14-item patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) measuring health status, and the Oxford Arthroplasty Early Change Score (OACS) a 14-item measure to assess change during the first 6 weeks following surgery is reported. Patients and methods A five-phased, best practice, iterative approach was used. From a literature based starting point, qualitative interviews with orthopaedic healthcare professionals, were then performed ascertaining if and how clinicians would use such a PROM and change measure. Analysis of in-depth patient-interviews in phase one identified important patient-reported factors in early recovery which were used to provide questionnaire themes. In Phase two, candidate items from Phase One interviews were generated and pilot questionnaires developed and tested. Exploratory factor analysis with item reduction and final testing of the questionnaires was performed in phase three. Phase Four involved validation testing. Results Qualitative interviews (n = 22) with orthopaedic healthcare professionals, helped determine views of potential users, and guide structure. In Phase One, factors from patient interviews (n = 30) were used to find questionnaire themes and generate items. Pilot questionnaires were developed and tested in Phase Two. Items were refined in the context of cognitive debrief interviews (n = 34) for potential inclusion in the final tools. Final testing of questionnaire properties with item reduction (n = 168) was carried out in phase three. Validation of the OARS and OACS was performed in phase four. Both measures were administered to consecutive patients (n = 155) in an independent cohort. Validity and reliability were assessed. Psychometric testing showed positive results, in terms of internal consistency and sensitivity to change, content validity and relevance to patients and clinicians. In addition, these measures have been found to be acceptable to patients throughout early recovery with validation across the 6 week period. Conclusions These brief, easy-to-use tools could be of great use in assessing recovery pathways and interventions in arthroplasty surgery.

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Trust compliance with best practice tariff criteria for total hip and knee replacement

British Journal of Hospital Medicine ◽

10.12968/hmed.2019.80.9.537 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 80 (9) ◽

pp. 537-540

Author(s):

Ivor Vanhegan ◽

Andrew Sankey ◽

Warwick Radford ◽

Simon Ball ◽

Charles Gibbons

Keyword(s):

Knee Replacement ◽

Best Practice ◽

Outcome Measure ◽

Participation Rate ◽

Patient Reported Outcome ◽

Measure Data ◽

National Joint Registry ◽

Joint Registry ◽

Patient Reported Outcome Measure ◽

Patient Reported

Background: Satisfaction of the best practice tariff criteria for primary hip and knee replacement enables on average an additional £560 of reimbursement per case. The Getting it Right First Time report highlighted poor awareness of these criteria among orthopaedic departments. Methods: The authors investigated the reasons for non-compliance with the best practice tariff criteria at their trust and implemented a quality improvement approach to ensure successful adherence to the standards (a minimum National Joint Registry compliance rate of 85%, a National Joint Registry unknown consent rate below 15%, a patient-reported outcome measure participation rate of ≥50%, and an average health gain not significantly below the national average). This was investigated using quarterly online reports from the National Joint Registry and NHS Digital. Results: Initially, the trust had a 31% patient-reported outcome measures participation rate arising from a systematic error in the submission of preoperative patient-reported outcome measure scores. Re-audit following the resubmission of patient-reported outcome measure data under the trust's correct organization data service code confirmed an improvement in patient-reported outcome measure compliance to 90% and satisfaction of all criteria resulting in over £450 000 of additional reimbursement to the trust. Conclusions: The authors would urge others to review their compliance with these four best practice tariff criteria to ensure that they too are not missing out on this significant reimbursement sum.

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What matters to children with lower limb deformities: an international qualitative study guiding the development of a new patient-reported outcome measure

Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes ◽

10.1186/s41687-021-00299-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 5 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Harpreet Chhina ◽

Anne F. Klassen ◽

Jacek A. Kopec ◽

John Oliffe ◽

Christopher Iobst ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Study ◽

Conceptual Framework ◽

Lower Limb ◽

Outcome Measure ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Patient Reported Outcome ◽

Complication Rates ◽

Patient Reported Outcome Measure ◽

Patient Reported ◽

Limb Deformities

Abstract Background Lower limb deformities include conditions such as leg length discrepancy, lower limb deficiency and associated angular and rotational deformities of the hips, knees, ankles and feet. Children with lower limb deformities often have physical limitations due to gait irregularities and pain. The differences in the appearance and function of their lower limbs can discourage participation in social, recreational and leisure activities, which may result in behavioural, emotional, psychological and social adjustment problems. The health-related quality of life (HRQL) of these children is often impacted due to the factors discussed above, as well as by the complex surgical procedures. Surgical treatment options for limb deformities in children vary from limb lengthening and reconstruction to amputation. The lack of evidence demonstrating superiority of either treatment options and their effect on HRQL limits the ability of healthcare providers to counsel families on the best evidence-based treatment option for them. This manuscript describes the international qualitative study which guided the development of a new patient-reported outcome measure (PROM). Individual semi-structured face-to-face interviews with children with lower limb deformities and their parents were conducted at five sites: Canada (2 sites), Ethiopia, India and the USA. Results Seventy-nine interviews were conducted at five international sites. Five main themes emerged from the qualitative interviews and formed the basis of the conceptual framework. These themes were: 1) appearance, 2) physical health, 3) psychological health 4) school and 5) social health. Conclusions Lower limb deformities have a substantial impact on the HRQL of children. The concepts of interest identified in our study were similar across children from all countries. The conceptual framework guided the development of outcome scales specific to these patients. The information about the impact of various treatment options on the HRQL of children with lower limb deformities, collected using this new PROM, could be used to inform parents and children about outcomes (physical, social, psychological) associated with specific treatment options. This information could supplement other objective outcome information (e.g., complication rates, how the leg will look, etc.) to help families to come to a more informed decision on a child’s course of treatment.

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