The use of a walking aid before surgery is not related to worse short-term outcomes after simultaneous bilateral total knee arthroplasty

Abstract

Introduction: No study has been performed to compare patients’ pre- and post-operative knee disability, functional status, and length of hospital stay after surgery between patients with and without using a walking aid. Methods: One-hundred forty-five patients were enrolled and divided into four groups based on whether they used any walking aids before surgery: no walking aid, one cane, one elbow crutch, and two elbow crutches. The groups were compared for knee disability (Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) knee score), functional status (Iowa Level of Assistance Scale (ILAS)), and length of hospital stay. Results: For the pre-operative HSS knee scores, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups ( p > 0.05). For the pre-operative ILAS scores, the patients without using walking aids had better functional status than those using any walking aids ( p < 0.05). For the post-operative outcomes, no statistically significant differences were found between the groups in the HSS knee and the ILAS scores and length of hospital stay after surgery. Conclusion: In this population, using any walking aids before surgery is related to worse pre-operative functional status but not to the pre-operative knee disability. Furthermore, it is not related to the short-term outcomes after surgery.