Knee Replacement News and Research

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Study finds increase in number of total knee replacements among U.S. Medicare population

Total knee replacement is a very common and safe surgery that's used to relieve severe pain and disability caused by knee osteoarthritis, and to improve patients' quality of life. However, it's also very expensive at approximately $15,000 per procedure. With an estimated 600,000 total knee replacements performed annually in the United States, the aggregate annual cost for total knee replacement (also known as total knee arthroplasty or TKA) is $9 billion.

27 Sep 2012

EMA CHMP adopts positive opinion for ELIQUIS to prevent stroke, systemic embolism in NVAF patients

Bristol-Myers Squibb and Pfizer Inc. today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion recommending that ELIQUIS (apixaban) be granted approval for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in adult patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) and one or more risk factors for stroke.

21 Sep 2012

Study of spinal injury data may help surgeons treat injured soldiers or civilians

Spinal injuries are among the most disabling conditions affecting wounded members of the U.S. military. Yet until recently, the nature of those injuries had not been adequately explored.

21 Sep 2012

Apixaban offers minor added benefit for adult patients after hip replacement

The clot-inhibiting drug apixaban was approved in May 2011 for the prevention of thrombosis (blood clots) after operations to replace a hip or knee joint.

18 Sep 2012

More patients gain weight after joint replacement surgery

Hip and knee replacements are now a common surgical procedure with more than 700,000 total joint arthroplasties (TJAs) performed in the US every year. Due to the reduction in pain and increases in mobility experienced after having a TJA, it could be expected that weight loss may occur as a by-product of the surgery.

10 Sep 2012

Obesity no barrier to knee replacement surgery

Health policy should not withhold total knee arthroplasty from patients on the basis of obesity, say UK researchers.

3 Sep 2012

Some smaller clots may not require potentially risky treatment

Men and women who undergo joint replacement procedures, as well as those who have significant fractures, tend to be at an increased risk of developing pulmonary emboli (PE), blood clots that travel to the lungs where they may cause serious complications and even death.

1 Sep 2012

Viewpoints: Health law will leave some poor families 'in lurch'; Mich. Gov.'s effort to get health exchange

Confusing language in the health care reform law has raised the possibility that millions of Americans living on modest incomes may be unable to afford their employers' family policies and yet fail to qualify for government subsidies to buy their own insurance. This is a bizarre development that undercuts the basic goal of health care reform - to expand the number of insured people and make their coverage affordable.

28 Aug 2012

AcelRx commences third ARX-01 Phase 3 study in post-operative pain

AcelRx Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies for the treatment of acute and breakthrough pain, today announced dosing of the first patient in the third of three planned Phase 3 studies for ARX-01, the Sufentanil NanoTab PCA System, its novel sublingual patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system.

24 Aug 2012

Acupuncture could save treatment costs and offer viable alternative to knee replacement surgery

The researchers base their findings on 90 patients with knee osteoarthritis, who were referred for group acupuncture to two knee pain clinics in St Albans, Hertfordshire, in 2008 and subsequently monitored for two years.

21 Aug 2012

PPMC earns Gold Seal of Approval for hip and knee joint replacement services

Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PPMC) has earned the Gold Seal of Approval- from The Joint Commission for its hip and knee joint replacement services. PPMC's certification is the first of its kind for Penn Medicine, and demonstrates the hospital's high level of compliance with The Joint Commission's national standards for health care quality and safety.

15 Aug 2012

Patient, not surgeon factors influence patient-centric outcomes after knee surgery

Patient factors are more important than anything surgeons can control during total knee replacement surgery in the prediction of patient-reported outcome measures, report UK researchers.

9 Aug 2012

Dabigatran ‘still effective in obese’

The oral direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran is an effective thromboprophylactic therapy for patients undergoing total hip or knee replacement regardless of their body mass index, researchers assert.

9 Aug 2012

Vitamin E total knee replacement performed at Tri-City Medical Center

Dr. James Helgager, an experienced orthopedic surgeon, implanted the first vitamin E Total Knee Replacement in San Diego County on July 31 at Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside. Helgager is the Medical Director of Joint Replacement for the Orthopaedic & Spine Institute at Tri-City Medical Center. He has been practicing medicine for more than three decades and has performed thousands of total knee replacements.

6 Aug 2012

Increased risk for AMI following hip- and knee-replacement surgery

Elderly patients are at a significantly increased risk for acute myocardial infarction in the 2 weeks following total hip- or knee-replacement surgery, research shows.

27 Jul 2012

Studies look at surgical site infections and hyperglycemia

Two recent studies in the July issues of the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (JBJS) looked at surgical site infections and hyperglycemia, the technical term for high blood glucose, or high blood sugar.

26 Jul 2012

NHS hospitals have scope to make efficiency savings by adopting best practice

NHS hospitals have substantial scope to improve their efficiency by adopting best practice, according to research published today by Professor Andrew Street and colleagues at the Centre for Health Economics (CHE) at the University of York.

14 Jul 2012

JRD receives FDA priority review designation for XARELTO sNDAs to treat PE, DVT

Janssen Research & Development, LLC (Janssen R&D) announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has assigned a priority review designation to the supplemental New Drug Applications (sNDAs) filed on May 2, 2012 for XARELTO (rivaroxaban), an oral anticoagulant, seeking new indications to treat patients with deep vein thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary embolism (PE), and to prevent recurrent DVT and PE.

9 Jul 2012

Staff at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals shortlisted for more awards than any other trust in the country

Teams of staff at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals have been recognised for their hard work by gaining more shortlisted entries in two high profile national award schemes than any other trust in the country.

25 Jun 2012

Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb receive FDA CRL for ELIQUIS NDA

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company and Pfizer announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Complete Response Letter (CRL) regarding the New Drug Application (NDA) for ELIQUIS (apixaban) for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation.