Does it last?

Recent studies from the US, the UK and Finland have shown that there has been a substantial rise in total knee replacements (TKR) for younger people. The study from Finland, published in Arthritis and Rheumatism, shows that, along with an overall increase in the procedure, there was also a marked increase amongst those aged 50-59, while the journal's editorial suggests that more research into outcomes for younger patients is warranted. Another study from the US dismisses the idea that this growth is simply caused by rising obesity and an increase in population numbers. The practice of rationing TKR in the UK is judged not to be cost effective by a study in the BMJ. Researchers used data from the Knee Arthroplasty Trial to show that only offering surgery to patients with a high-to-moderate Oxford Knee Score was "probably unjustified". Body Mass Index, also occasionally used as a metric for rationing, was also found to have no significant effect on cost or outcome.