{"id":24150,"date":"2017-03-01T16:51:11","date_gmt":"2017-03-01T16:51:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themediabeast.com\/resources\/?p=24150"},"modified":"2017-03-01T16:51:37","modified_gmt":"2017-03-01T16:51:37","slug":"doctors-performing-unnecessary-knee-surgeries-clekis-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themediabeast.com\/resources\/doctors-performing-unnecessary-knee-surgeries-clekis-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctors performing unnecessary knee surgeries? (Clekis-1)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"In<\/a><\/p>\n

from CBSNews.com<\/em><\/p>\n

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More than one-third of total knee replacements performed in the U.S. were deemed “inappropriate” in a new study that used a patient classification system to weigh the risks and benefits.<\/p>\n

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The study, published June 30 in the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology, looked at 175 people who underwent total knee replacement surgery. The patients were enrolled in the Osteoarthritis Initiative — a 5-year study funded in part by the National Institutes of Health. The average age of knee replacement patients in the group was 67 years old, and 60 percent of the patients were women.<\/p>\n

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The study looked at how patients scored on measures of pain and physical function; knee motion and laxity; radiography; and the patient’s age.<\/p>\n

The study found that only 44 percent of surgeries were classified as appropriate, meaning the expected benefits outweighed the likely risks for that patient. In 34 percent of cases evaluated, the surgery was deemed to be inappropriate, with expected risks outweighing the benefits. The rest of the cases, 22 percent, were considered inconclusive, with risks and benefits approximately equal.<\/p>\n

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