Hip and Knee Replacement for Osteoarthritis

Knee Arthroplasty versus Joint Distraction Study (KARDS) for Osteoarthritis

Addressing priority 2: NIHR research in progress

Knee Joint Distraction (KJD) seems to be a suitable & promising treatment for young & active patients as it does not prevent a future knee replacement if needed but can reduce the need / delay the time a patient will need one. However, KJD is currently not available in the UK. In this research, patients with severe knee osteoarthritis, who consent to take part, will be randomly allocated either knee joint distraction or knee replacement. An analysis of the cost-effectiveness of treating patients with KJD versus knee replacement will be performed to see if this could represent value for money for the NHS in the coming years where the number of patients with knee osteoarthritis is set to increase substantially.

Robotic Arthroplasty: a Clinical and cost Effectiveness Randomised controlled trial for Hips (RACER-HIP)

Addressing priorities 4 and 6: NIHR research in progress

Hip replacement is usually very successful, however, some patients continue to have pain and cannot return to their normal activities. Using a robot may help to position the new hip more precisely. This may mean patients have less pain, and better recovery. Robot assisted surgery costs a lot more than surgery without robots. This research teams wants to find out if robotic assisted hip replacement gives better results for patients compared to non-robotic hip replacement and whether it provides good value for money for the NHS when compared to non-robotic hip replacement.

SPAARK: Study of Peri-Articular Anaesthetic for Replacement of the Knee

Addressing priority 5: NIHR research completed Project website

The clinical and cost-effectiveness of elective primary total knee replacement with PAtellar Resurfacing compared to selective patellar resurfacing. A pragmatic multicentre randomised controlled Trial with blinding (PART)

Addressing priority 6: NIHR research in progress

This study will compare whether it is better if surgeons resurface every patient's kneecap during knee replacement or if surgeons only resurface the kneecap when they believe it will lead to a better outcome.

Robotic Arthroplasty: a Clinical and cost Effectiveness Randomised Controlled Trial. (RACER)

Addressing 3 of the priorities: NIHR research in progress

Robotic systems are increasingly being used to help surgeons perform knee replacements. They are expensive, but we do not know if they provide any benefit for patients. This research team wants to find out if total knee replacement performed with the help of a robot is better than using the standard technique.