Most of the patients undergoing TKR are elderly.
They are likely to have co-morbidities that give them more Siriraj Med J, Volume 66, Number 3, May-June 2014 67
risks to postoperative complications than patients in other
age groups.
In contrast, some studies have found that
age has no effect on functional status in patients after
TKR; therefore, more studies are needed.
There has been much interest concerning how
patients undergoing TKR have higher BMI than normal.
BMI is another factor which affects functional status, as
higher BMI has more likelihood for postoperative complications and poorer outcomes of TKR. However, in
other studies comparing BMI, it was found that BMI has
no effect on functional status after TKR.
In Thailand, there are no studies investigating the
relationships among age, BMI, recovery symptoms, and
functional status in TKR patients. The present study aimed
to explore age, BMI, recovery symptoms, and functional
status, and examine their relationships in patients after
TKR at the first follow-up (2 weeks) to better understand
the early recovery phase in TKR patients.