Total knee arthroplasty for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: A protocol for a systematic review of randomized controlled trial.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a very tricky orthopedic condition. If it can not be treated fairly well, it may greatly affect quality of life in patients with RA, and even can cause disability. Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) has reported to treat patients with RA effectively. However, no study has systematically explored its efficacy and complications for patients with RA.

Methods: Seven databases will be searched from their inceptions to the present without any language restrictions: MEDICINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Allied and Complementary Medicine Database, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure. Two authors will carry out all study selection, data extraction, and risk of bias assessment independently.

Results: The primary outcome of joint pain will be measured by any pain scales, such as visual analogue scale. The secondary outcomes will include joint function, quality of life, and postoperative adverse events. The joint function will be measured by The Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index, Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, or other relevant scales. The quality of life will be assessed by the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey or any related tools. In addition, postoperative adverse events will also be analyzed.

Conclusions: The findings of this study will summarize the latest existing evidence on the efficacy and safety of TKA for patients with RA.

Ethics And Dissemination: This study does not need ethical approval, because it will not analyze individual data. The results of this study are expected to be disseminated at peer-reviewed journals.

Prospero Registration Number: PROSPERO CRD42019133274.