RA-Related Joint Replacements Halved Over 13-Year Period

Recent research presented at the 2018 Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2018) found that over the past decade joint replacement surgeries for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have decreased significantly. 

“Literature to date has reported inconsistent findings,” John Hanly, MD, professor of medicine (rheumatology) and pathology at Dalhousie University in Canada, said in a press release. “However, our results add significant evidence to show a clear reduction in joint replacement surgery in RA patients, most likely due to improvements in medical management over the last few decades.”

Dr Hanly and colleagues studied the annual rate of RA-related joint replacement surgeries in a cohort of RA patients compared to a matched cohort over a 13-year period, between 1997 and 2010. They retrospectively reviewed data from 1 million patients in a universal health care system. 

Study results showed that the number of RA cases increased over the study period from 3913 in 1997 to 4911 in 2010. Additionally, they found that cases of arthroplasty surgery decreased by 51.9% among patients with RA during the study period. Furthermore, while instances of arthroplasty surgery was lower in the control group, the frequency of surgeries increased by 31.9%. 

The researchers also noted that the frequency of hip arthroplasty surgery decreased by 63% among patients with RA, but increased by 35% in the control group. 

“There was a striking reduction in arthroplasty surgery in RA cases over 13 years of observation,” Dr Hanley and colleagues concluded. “Lack of similar changes in controls and sustained rates of cardiac procedures over the same time suggests that this was not due to limited surgical access for RA patients. Improvement in medical treatment of RA is likely responsible.”