Outcome in patients lost to follow-up

• Published in: The Journal of arthroplasty Vol. 18; no. 2; pp. 149 - 153
• Main Authors: Joshi, Atul B., Gill, Gurdev S., Smith, Patricia L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.02.2003
• Subjects: Aged; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee - statistics & numerical data; attrition; Female; Humans; Interviews as Topic; long-term follow-up; Male; Middle Aged; Patient Compliance - statistics & numerical data; Patient Satisfaction; Surveys and Questionnaires; survivorship analysis; Treatment Outcome; survivorship analysis; long-term follow-up; attrition
• ISSN: 0883-5403; 1532-8406
• DOI: 10.1054/arth.2003.50061

Long-term outcome studies are valuable for providing information on the results of joint arthroplasty. However, a progressively increasing rate of attrition correlates with the length of study. The attrition rate of patients “lost to follow-up” (“non-attenders”) may have a significant effect on the reported outcome. The goal of this study was to analyze the effect of the outcome in patients lost to follow-up on analysis in the setting of total knee arthroplasty. We found a lower rate of failure for revision surgery and higher satisfactory results in “non-attenders” compared with patients completing follow-up. No statistical effect of loss to follow-up care was noted on survivorship analysis when revision surgery or revision plus severe pain were considered as end points. Therefore, the patients who do not attend follow-up visits do not necessarily have poor results. Copyright 2003, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.