Introduction: Over the past several decades, management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has evolved significantly, but few studies have examined the real-world impact of these changes on orthopaedic surgery in patients with RA. This systematic review assessed total hip arthroplasty (THA) incidence and postoperative complication rates across the past four decades.
Methods: This is a systematic literature review sourcing data on THA in patients with RA from the electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, and Cochrane between January 1, 1980 and December 31, 2019.
Results: The search retrieved 1715 articles of which 44 were included for quantitative synthesis. The rate for THA decreased by almost 40% from 11/1000 patient years (PY) in the 2000s to 7/1000 PY in the 2010s, while the overall complication rate decreased from 9.9% in the 1990s to 5.3% in the 2010s. Throughout the duration of the study, THA incidence and overall complication rate decreased. However, not all individual complication rates decreased. For example, revision and periprosthetic fracture decreased, infection and aseptic loosening remained constant, and dislocation increased.
Conclusion: Medical management of patients with RA has reduced the need for THA, while postoperative medical and surgical management has improved some postoperative outcomes. Nevertheless, there remains room for further improvement to postoperative outcomes through RA-specific management.
Keywords: Complications; Disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs; Incidence; Rheumatoid arthritis; Systematic review; Total hip arthroplasty.