DISCUSSION
The TKR patients in this study had a high level
of BMI, with the mean score in the overweight level.
Such a finding yielded support to the findings of previous
studies that most patients undergoing TKR had BMI at
an overweight or obese level.5,12 This could be explained
that an increase in body weight causes the knee joints to
work harder, thus an increase in dynamic force through
the joints and wear and tear of the joint, with one kilogram
increase in body weight resulting in an increase in the
dynamic force on the knee joint by four kilograms.19 It is
worth noting that in this study, even though the mean BMI
of the patients was at an overweight level, the mode BMI
score of most patients was at a normal level. Thus, it may
be assumed that Thai culture and way of life may have
played roles in triggering osteoarthritis in Thai patients.
The most frequently occurring symptoms of TKR
surgery patients were pain, limping, knee numbness,
anxiety, and knee swelling. Although there is no study
that has explored all symptoms in patients after TKR
surgery, there is a similar study that investigated health
care needs of patients during early recovery after TKR. It
has been reported that limitations on knee mobility, pain,
and ecchymosis are the top three distress symptoms of
Taiwanese TKR patients after hospital discharge.5
Pain
management was the first health care need of them.4
As regards findings of recovery symptoms, limping
and numbness were common symptoms. In fact, they
are well recognized complications after TKR surgery.
Limping results from pain in the incision area when it
has to bear normal weight and from the weakening of
the quadriceps muscles in the operated knee.20 Thus, the
patients have to adjust the gait by putting more weight
on the other knee that is not operated on to reduce the
weight which the operated knee has to bear. Numbness
is a direct effect of the surgery that results in an injury of
the fibers in the surrounding area as well as an injury of
the neurons in the knee, mostly the infrapatellar branch
of the saphenous nerve.7
Numbness should finally subside
within three to six months after TKR surgery.
In this study, anxiety is the emotional symptom
that occurred sometimes with TKR patients. This is consistent with previous findings in TKR patients. Anxiety
begins right after the surgery, ranging from mild to moderately severe.21 It was found that at the first follow-up,
71.6% of the patients continued to suffer from anxiety.
This was different from findings of a previous study in a
Midwestern hospital in the United States in which only
4.3% experienced anxiety symptoms.21 A plausible reason
may be the difference in research study designs as the
subjects of the previous study had prior knee surgery.
In the current study, some patients suffered from
knee swelling sometimes after they had returned home
after hospital discharge. This finding was congruent with
previous studies.3,5 Knee swelling is a distress symptom
that happens from after operation to one month after TKR.
Knee swelling after TKR is an inflammatory response to
cell injury. In general, swelling reduces within seven days
after surgery.22 In this study, severity of swelling may be
caused by increasing activities at home.