Outcomes of patellofemoral joint arthroplasty: a systematic review of revision timelines and complication rates.

introductionThis systematic review attempts to address survivorship of patellofemoral joint replacements, with conversion to a total knee arthroplasty (TKA) as an endpoint.

methodsSurvival estimates from multiple case series and national registries were pooled to calculate survival at 5, 10, 15 and 20 years, respectively. As a secondary outcome, the type and number of complications were recorded. A complication was defined as any any adverse event or unintended outcome that occurs as a result of the joint replacement, either during the immediate postoperative period or over the longer term. As arthroplasty registries do not report this information, this data was only included from publicly available series.

results1015 eligible articles were identified, with 21 reporting survival and reasons for revision or complications. Data from registries were extracted. Using publicly available results from international joint registries, survival at 5 and 10 years were 90.30% (95% CI 88.32 to 92.27) and 82.23% (95% CI 78.90 to 85.56), respectively. However, long-term survivorship decreased to 73.74% (95% CI 69.12 to 78.37) and 72.68% (95% CI 69.58 to 75.53) at 15 and 20 years.

conclusionOur pooled data, survival data from case series show similar results to international joint registries up to 10 years with a survival rate of 82.33%. These findings will be of use to patients and arthroplasty surgeons who require further information in order to predict how long patellofemoral joint replacements will last.