Effects of total hip replacement on quality of life in patients with osteoarthritis and in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The effects of total hip replacement (THR) on quality of life were investigated in 62 patients with osteoarthrosis (OA) and 35 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Patients eligible for a first hip joint replacement were enrolled consecutively and examined at home before the operation and 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery. The IRGL (Influence of Rheumatic Diseases on Health and Lifestyle), a Dutch version of the AIMS (Arthritis Impact Measurement Scales), was used to operationalize quality of life in a questionnaire. Pain and mobility scores showed significant improvement among both OA and RA patients. The general mood of the OA patients also improved significantly, but the RA group showed only a favourable tendency in this respect. The interference of OA in several areas of life almost disappeared, whereas the impact of RA was only slightly reduced. There was no discernible effect on the social dimension in either group. A single THR apparently solves the main problem of most OA patients, but only one of a number of joint problems for most RA patients. The IRGL is complex and time-consuming and contains irrelevant scales. Its multidimensional evaluation of the quality of life is more informative than a purely somatic evaluation.