Management of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis in the obese adult
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Management of symptomatic knee osteoarthritis in the obese adult: A SURVEY TO ASSESS WHAT HELP OBESE (BMI>30KG/M2) PATIENTS WERE GIVEN TO LOSE WEIGHT BEFORE UNDERGOING TOTAL KNEE REPLACEMENT SURGERY.
IRAS ID
222978
Contact name
Tim Board
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 9 days
Research summary
There is currently a lot of debate around the management of painful wear and tear (osteoarthritis) of the knee in patients who are obese. Obesity is defined as an excess body fat accumulation to the extent that it has a negative effect on a persons health, and numerically as a Body Mass Index >30kg/m2. This debate is complex.
Knee replacement surgery offers excellent pain relief and function in correctly selected patients, and has been shown to be a cost effective treatment for knee osteoarthritis.
In an attempt to ease the current funding crisis in the health services some Clinical Commissioning Groups are restricting access to knee replacement surgery in patients who are obese.In addition some surgeons will not offer obese patients Total Knee Replacement (TKR) surgery owing to a perceived increased risk of complications as well as technical difficulties performing surgery.
Multiple guidelines state that weight loss is the first line treatment for obese patients with symptomatic knee osteoarthritis. We suspect that support in the community is lacking in most cases, partly due to the complexity of the obesity epidemic, but also lack of awareness and inadequate commissioning.
Through satellite projects we are surveying both orthopaedic surgeons and general practitioners opinions and practices around the management of painful knee osteoarthritis in obese patients.
The purpose of this research is to determine what help obese (BMI>30kg/m2) patients were given to lose weight before undergoing TKR surgery, and would they have accepted more help to control their weight before their surgery had it been offered?REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/SW/0109
Date of REC Opinion
18 May 2017
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion