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Abstract

Introduction: Preoperative anxiety and depression have been shown to increase postoperative pain and opioid consumption by up to 50% in patients undergoing primary unilateral Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA). We hypothesized that the use of a telemedicine-based digital Cognitive Behavioral Intervention program (RxWell^®) started one month prior to surgery would control anxiety and depression prior to surgery.

Materials and methods: This was a randomized, controlled trial that enrolled patients undergoing primary unilateral TKA. At least a month prior to surgery, patients who gave consent to participate were asked to complete PROMIS^® (Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System) emotional anxiety short form 8a and PROMIS^® emotional depression short form-8a questionnaires. Patients with T-scores of ≥ 57 were randomized to either a no intervention (control group) or a RxWell^® program (treatment group) for a month prior to surgery. The primary outcome of this proof-of-concept study was the ability of the RxWell^® to normalize patients’ PROMIS anxiety T scores.

Results: T scores for anxiety and depression among patients randomized to the RxWell^® group significantly decreased from 64.3 ± 3.0 at the time of randomization to 58.5 ± 2.6 prior to surgery (n=5, p=0.006), whereas no changes in T scores were recorded in the control group (59.4 ± 4.2 at the time of randomization vs. 57.7 ± 6.2; n=6, p=0.559).

Conclusion: These preliminary data suggest that the use of a RxWell^® program represents an effective approach to control anxiety and depression prior to surgery. In contrast, it seems that in the absence of treatment, anxiety level remains similar over a month prior to surgery.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Telemedicine; Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA); Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS)