Reduction in orthopedic surgery among patients with chronic inflammatory joint disease in Norway, 1994–2004

Abstract

Introduction Chronic inflammatory joint diseases are associated with joint destruction and subsequent marked disability and the need for orthopedic surgery. Relieving pain, correcting deformities, and replacing destroyed joints to achieve a better function are major indications for surgical treatment. In a long-term followup study of 1,600 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 25% underwent total joint arthroplasty within 22 years after disease onset (1). In general, the incidence of joint replacement procedures has increased during recent years (2). It has been suggested that a major reason for this trend is an increase in the prevalence of osteoarthritis (OA) due to an increased number of elderly persons in the population (2) and an increasing number of individuals who are overweight (3). Findings from some published studies suggest the opposite trend in the incidence of surgical procedures, including joint replacement procedures, due to RA (4–6). The major goal of the present study was to assess the use of orthopedic surgery among patients with chronic inflammatory joint disease in Norway during the period 1994– 2004. The incidence in the Norwegian population of total joint replacement procedures, synovectomies, and arthrodesis operations in patients with chronic inflammatory joint disease was investigated.