TUESDAY, June 1, 2021 (HealthDay News) — For patients undergoing surgical treatment for end-stage ankle arthritis, those undergoing total ankle arthroplasty (TAA) and ankle arthrodesis (AA) have significant improvement in overall function, ankle-specific function, and pain at 48 months, according to a study published online May 24 in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.
Bruce J. Sangeorzan, M.D., from the VA Puget Sound Health Care System in Seattle, and colleagues conducted a multisite prospective cohort study including 517 participants (414 TAA and 103 AA). The Foot and Ankle Ability Measure (FAAM) Activities of Daily Living and Sports subscales, Short Form-36 (SF-36) Physical and Mental Component Summary (PCS and MCS) scores, and pain scores were compared at 48 months.
The researchers found that at 48 months after surgery, both groups achieved significant improvement in the two FAAM measures, the SF-36 PCS score, and all pain measures. For patients undergoing TAA, mean improvements from baseline were at least 9, 8, and 3.5 points for the FAAM Activities of Daily Living, FAAM Sports, and SF-36 scores, respectively, which were higher than the scores seen for patients undergoing AA. At 12, 24, and 36 months, mean improvements in worst and average pain were at least 0.9 points higher in those undergoing TAA versus those undergoing AA. By 48 months, these differences were attenuated. All improvements from baseline to 24 months were maintained at 48 months for both treatments.
“The interpretation of these findings is highly relevant to patients who experience end-stage ankle arthritis,” the authors write.
One or more of the authors disclosed having a financial relationship in the biomedical arena outside the submitted work.
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