Joint Surgery Becoming Less Common Among Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients

According to a report published online January 15, 2012 in the Journal of Rheumatology, the rates of joint surgery continue to decrease for rheumatoid arthritis patients, especially those who have been more recently diagnosed. Previous studies recognized declining rates of joint surgery among patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis since 1985. In the study published online in January, researchers accessed medical records of patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis from 1980-2007, using data from the Rochester Epidemiology Project, and evaluated whether the trend continued since 1995.

Of the 813 patients in the study, the proportion of patients needing rheumatoid arthritis-related joint surgery dropped between the two time frames, 1980-1994 and 1995-2007. The cumulative incidence of any joint surgery at 10 years after rheumatoid arthritis onset dropped from 27.3% to 19.5% between the time frames 1980-1994 and 1995-2007. The greatest reduction occurred in soft tissue surgeries, such as synovectomy, tendon repair, tendon transfer, meniscus repair, ligament release, and cartilage repair. Surgery on weightbearing joints (hips and knees) did not exhibit the big reduction between the time frames. The increased use of disease-modifying drugs (DMARDs) may account for decreased joint damage and consequently less need for joint surgery. It was also noted in the study results that joint reconstructive surgery was associated with increased mortality.

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