A study published online in The Journal of Arthroplasty examines reasons for failure of primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The authors retrospectively reviewed information on 18,065 primary TKAs to identify cause of failure and determine risk of revision surgery. 

Members of the research team found that hazard ratios for failure were 4.68 for patients with reported drug abuse, 3.52 for preoperative deformity and mechanical diagnosis, 1.99 for patients with a constrained condylar knee implant compared with a posterior stabilized implant, and 1.78 for preoperative posttraumatic and trauma diagnosis. Finally, they noted that advancing age was protective for failure, with a 0.61 hazard ratio. Learn more...