Better clinical outcome of total knee arthroplasty for rheumatoid arthritis with glucocorticoids and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs after an average of 11.4-year follow-up

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigated whether perioperative treatment with glucocorticoids (GC) and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) can improve clinical outcomes and reduce long-term complications for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Methods: Patients were allocated into three groups based on perioperative drug therapy: A. control group (no GC or DMARDs), B. DMARD group (DMARDs given without GC) and C. co-therapy group (DMARDs plus GC). The patients were followed and received questionnaires at the latest follow-up. Baseline characteristics, pre-and post-operative HSS knee score, laboratory parameters, and surgical complications were collected and analyzed. Results: 56 RA patients undergoing 91 TKAs were included in this study. The average follow-up duration was 11.4 years. Patients who received perioperative GC with DMARDs (group C) achieved better HSS score (