Support and treatment after replacement (STAR): follow-up study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Support and treatment after joint replacement (STAR): Long-term follow up of a care pathway for patients with long-term pain after knee replacement
IRAS ID
296241
Contact name
Rachael Gooberman-Hill
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
North Bristol NHS Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 7 months, 2 days
Research summary
The STAR Trial was conducted in eight hospitals in the UK. The trial tested whether the new STAR care pathway provided benefit to a group of people with troublesome pain three months after knee replacement compared with a group receiving usual care.
We invited over 5000 people to tell us how they were doing after their operation. 3058 responded, 907 reported ongoing pain 10 weeks after surgery, and almost 400 reported ongoing pain at three months. 363 took part in the trial, with 313 completing all of the questionnaires.
Participants told us about their pain and how much it interfered in their lives at the start of the trial and again six and twelve months later. We also collected information about their hospital stays and appointments during the trial.We found that people who received the STAR care pathway had better outcomes. They had less pain, better recovery from their surgery and fewer hospital stays compared to those having only usual care. We also found the care pathway provides good value for money for the NHS. Participants were sent a summary of the results in December 2020.
We now want to understand the longer-term experiences of people with pain after knee replacement and the effect of the STAR care pathway compared with usual care. This will involve contacting patients about four years after they first started in the trial and asking them to complete one questionnaire to tell us how they are getting on. We will also collect information from their hospital about any stays or appointments in the past few years.
This information will help us understand if people who had the STAR care pathway continue to have better outcomes and if this provides good value for money for the NHS in the longer term.
REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/SC/0098
Date of REC Opinion
26 Mar 2021
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion