Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty: A PearlDiver study evaluating complications rates, opioid use and utilization in the Medicare population

• Published in: Journal of experimental orthopaedics 2021-11, Vol.8 (1), p.103-103, Article 103
• Main Authors: Morris, Brandon L., Ayres, Jack M., Reinhardt, Daniel, Tarakemeh, Armin, Mullen, Scott, Schroeppel, J. Paul, Vopat, Bryan G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arthritis; Datasets; Joint replacement surgery; Joint surgery; Medicare; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Narcotics; Opioid; Original Paper; Orthopedics; Osteoarthritis; Postoperative complication; Surgical Orthopedics; Total knee arthroplasty; Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty
• ISSN: 2197-1153; 2197-1153
• DOI: 10.1186/s40634-021-00390-7

Purpose Despite increased utilization of unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) for unicompartmental knee osteoarthritis, outcomes in Medicare patients are not well-reported. The purpose of this study is to analyze practice patterns and outcome differences between UKA and TKA in the Medicare population. It is hypothesized that UKA utilization will have increased over the course of the study period and that UKA will be associated with reduced opioid use and lower complication rates compared to TKA. Methods Using PearlDiver, the Humana Claims dataset and the Medicare Standard Analytic File (SAF) were analyzed. Patients who underwent UKA and TKA were identified by CPT codes. Postoperative complications were identified by ICD-9/ICD-10 codes. Opioid use was analyzed by the number of days patients were prescribed opioids postoperatively. Survivorship was defined as conversion to TKA. Results In the Humana dataset, 7,808 UKA and 150,680 TKA patients were identified. 8-year survivorship was 87.7% (95% CI [0.861,0.894]). Postoperative opioid use was significantly higher after TKA (186.1 days) compared to UKA (144.7 days) ( p   80 years old and lowest in patients