Estimating incidence and prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) in Alberta using administrative claims data

Abstract

menopause. The mean age was 56.9 AE 10.7years. The intensity of pain was >50/100mm in 64.2% of patients, on a visual analogic scale at the time of diagnosis. Median pain duration was 1 year (Interquartile range: 7months-3.5 years). Obesity was present in 52% of patients, hypertension in 37.2% and diabetes in 8.8%. Knee x-ray showed that 35.5% of patients were beyond grade III according to Kellgen and Lawrence classification. Bilateral bi-compartmental knee osteoarthritis was found in 38.5% of patients, followed by bilateral tri-compartmental knee osteoarthritis in 14.2%. Pain intensity did not correlate with radiological findings whereas there was a positive correlation between pain and Lequesne disability index. Conclusion: Knee osteoarthritis is common in patients in Cameroon. Most patients present at later stages of the disease with a high disability index in a setting where access to health care is limited.

Optimizing the interprofessional workforce for centralized intake of patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid disease: case study

“…Wait times can be further increased by inappropriate referrals to specialists. For instance, patients with OA are only sometimes referred by their primary care physician to a rheumatologist first and subsequently re-referred to an orthopaedic specialist, which increases wait times for RA patients [ 11 ]. Patients with OA may also face longer wait times if appropriate screening and triage for conservative management versus surgery is not in place and non-surgical patients are referred to a surgical consult [ 12 ].…”