Swedish Hospital started a clinical trial of PT-led Triage for Patients With Hip o Knee Osteoarthritis
Photo by Lucaxx Freire
Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden is recruiting patients for the clinical trial of PT-led Triage for Patients With Hip o Knee Osteoarthritis.
The aim of this project is to compare PT-led triage in secondary care setting for patients with hip or/and knee osteoarthritis (OA) with standard care (i.e. assessment of orthopedic surgeon). Comparison between cost-effectiveness, selection accuracy, patients perceived quality of care, quality of life and physical function will be made.
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common musculoskeletal disorder and the number of people in need of surgical treatment for hip and knee OA is increasing. The waiting time for consultation with an orthopedic surgeon (OS) is long and the majority of the patient referred for assessment are not appropriate for surgical intervention. To reduce the number of patients seen by an OS and thereby shorten the waiting time, Sahlgrenska University Hospital started a Physiotherapist-led (PT-led) triage project in 2017. With PT-led triage the patients are assessed by a physiotherapist to establish the most appropriate care management; if the patient is appropriate for surgery, should be referred for continued rehabilitation, or referred back to the referring physician. To our knowledge this model of care with PT-led triage in secondary care setting have not been scientifically evaluated in Sweden.
Among the criteria that do not allow participation, the following are indicated:
- Prior assessment by and referral from an orthopedic surgeon for the current problem.
- Secondary osteoarthritis (posttraumatic osteoarthritis, femoral head necrosis), when stated on the referral.
- Referred to a specific surgeon.
The location of the clinical trial is Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Västra Götaland, Sweden.
The page dedicated to this clinical trial can be found here: https://ichgcp.net/clinical-trials-registry/NCT04665908
