Higher risk of revision for partial knee replacements in low absolute volume hospitals: data from 18,134 partial knee replacements in the Dutch Arthroplasty Register

Background and purpose — Partial knee replacement (PKR) survival rates vary a great deal among registries and cohort studies. These discrepancies can largely be attributed to inappropriate indications of the PKR and low thresholds for revision, but also to the PKR volume. This study used Dutch Arthroplasty Register data to analyze whether absolute PKR or proportional PKR hospital volume is associated with the risk of revision.

Patients and methods — 18,134 PKRs were identified in the Dutch Arthroplasty Register from 2007 to 2016. For each year, hospitals were divided into 4 groups based on the quartiles for the absolute volume (< 22, 22–36, 36–58 and > 58 PKRs per year) and the proportional volume (< 8.5, 8.6–14.2, 14.3–25.8 and > 25.8% PKRs). Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was performed to determine survival rates. A multivariable Cox regression adjusted for age category, sex, ASA score, year of surgery, diagnosis, unicondylar side, and type of hospital was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for revision.

Results and interpretation — Proportional PKR volume did not, but absolute PKR volume did influence the risk of revision. The adjusted HR for hospitals with an absolute volume of 22–36 PKRs per year was 1.04 (95% CI 0.91–1.20), 0.96 (CI 0.83–1.10) for the hospitals with 36–58 PKRs, and 0.74 (CI 0.62–0.89) for hospitals with more than 58 PKRs compared with hospitals that had fewer than 22 PKRs per year. So, patients treated with a PKR in a high absolute volume hospital have a lower risk of revision compared with those treated in a low absolute volume hospital.