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Using patient reports to assess health-related quality of life after total hip replacement

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Abstract

Data on disease severity, co-morbidity, and process of care were obtained from the medical records of 356 patients without rheumatoid arthritis undergoing a first unilateral total hip replacement at four teaching hospitals in California and Massachusetts. Sociodemographic characteristics, functional status prior and subsequent to hospitalization, and improvement in health status were measured with a patient questionnaire 12 months after discharge. Completed questionnaires were received from 284 patients, a reponse rate of 79.8%. The questionnaire was acceptable to patients, reliable, and had good construct validity. The data indicate substantial benefits from hip arthroplasty. As expected, pre-surgical functioning was a strong predictor of outcomes 1 year after surgery. Controlling for pre-surgical functioning, age was not related to outcomes.

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The work reported in this manuscript was supported in part by grants from the National Institute on Aging (AG08331-01), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the John A. Hartford Foundation.

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Cleary, P.D., Reilly, D.T., Greenfield, S. et al. Using patient reports to assess health-related quality of life after total hip replacement. Qual Life Res 2, 3–11 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00642884

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00642884

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