Assessment of Quality of Life and Physical Health Status of Knee Replacement Patients in Saudi Arabia.

Background: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a pathological condition widely prevalent throughout the world. The inability to perform some physical functions was the main symptom of OA and it impacted the quality of life (QOL) of patients. Therefore, TKR surgery was necessary to improve their QOL. However, to our knowledge, no study addressed the assessment of physical health and improvement in QOL before and after TKA in Saudi Arabia. Objective: To assess the QOL of patients before and after TKA. Methods: A cross-sectional study included 139 TKR patients with a mean age of 63.8±6.2 years. Data on sociodemographic characteristics, date of TKR surgery, and body mass index (BMI) were recorded. QOL was assessed (before TKR surgery and from 6 months to 3 years after surgery). The WOMAC, SF-12, and SF-36 physical health and QOL assessment scale questionnaires were sent to the participants and the results were obtained. Data and relationships were analyzed with SPSS, t-test, and ANOVA. Results: The mean WOMAC and SF-12 total scores after TKR surgery showed significant improvement compared to before surgery (14.3±5.7 vs. 61±6.1, p=0.001) and (56±4.8 vs. 38.5±7.4, p= 0.02) respectively. There was statistical significance for mean gender, educational level, date of surgery, and BMI with QOL scales. Conclusions: Our results suggest that patients who had undergone TKR surgery at least six months prior reported improvements in physical health status and QOL according to the study scales WOMAC, SF-12, and SF-36, which are considered the most appropriate scales to evaluate the QOL of TKR patients.