Patients who undergo total knee arthroplasty (TKA) may experience disease-specific problems, including decline in motor function and intense pain, which may result in disease-specific anxiety. This study aimed to investigate disease-specific anxiety at discharge, and any association between anxiety and functional outcomes following TKA.
The study prospectively included 129 patients who had undergone TKA. Each patient’s disease-specific anxiety about wounds, pain, gait, and falling was assessed at discharge using a numerical rating scale, in which 0 represented no anxiety and 10 represented the highest level of anxiety. In addition, patient-reported outcomes (PROs) were evaluated using the Knee Society Score (KSS) at six-months postoperatively. The effects of disease-specific anxiety at discharge were evaluated with the KSS at six-months postoperatively and analyzed separately using multiple regression analysis.
The median score for anxiety about wounds, pain, and gait was 4.0 (IQR 2.0–5.0) at discharge five days after surgery. The median score for anxiety about falling was also 4.0 (IQR 2.0–6.0). The level of anxiety regarding wounds, pain, gait, and falling was negatively associated with the KSS six-months postoperatively after adjusting for all confounding factors (wounds: β = −2.8, 95% CI −4.3 to −1.3; pain: β = −3.4, 95% CI −4.9 to −1.9; gait: β = −4.3, 95% CI −5.8 to −2.9; falling: β = −2.5, 95% CI −3.9 to −1.1).
Patients reported similar levels of anxiety regarding wounds, pain, gait, and falling at discharge after TKA. The severity of anxiety symptoms at discharge was negatively associated with PROs six-months postoperatively.