Rise of the Machines? Perhaps Not Yet, at Least in TKA
The humans strike back in first AJRR-based look at robotically assisted TKA
What’s the Claim?
For those of you not using robotic-assisted TKA, there’s some good news for when patients ask you “the robot question.”
An analysis of the American Joint Replacement Registry (AJRR) found that after controlling for relevant confounding variables, there was no difference in the risk of revision surgery 2 years after TKA between those placed with and without robotic assistance (odds ratio 1.0 [95% CI 0.8 to 1.3]; p = 0.92). If you’re wondering whether the AJRR can find differences in this context, or whether 2 years is long enough, the secondary findings here should answer that for you — the reasons for revision generally did not differ, though after controlling for confounders, TKAs implanted with robotic assistance were more likely to be revised for instability (OR 1.6 [95% CI 1.0 to 2.4]; p = 0.04) and pain (OR 2.1 [95% CI 1.4 to 3.0]; p < 0.001) than were those placed without robots.
