NIH Convenes Consensus Development Conference on Total Knee Replacement

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Development Program will hold a Consensus Development Conference on Total Knee Replacement December 8-10, 2003 in the main auditorium of the William H. Natcher Conference Center on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. A news conference at 2:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 will conclude the meeting.

Each year, approximately 300,000 total knee replacement (TKR) surgeries are performed in the United States for severe arthritis of the knee joint. As the number of TKR surgeries performed each year increases and the indications for TKR extend to younger patients, a review of available scientific information is necessary to enhance clinical decisionmaking and stimulate further research.

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases and the National Institutes of Health Office of Medical Applications of Research are sponsoring a consensus development conference to explore and assess the current scientific knowledge regarding TKR. Specifically, the conference will address the following key questions:

What are the current indications and outcomes for primary TKR? How do specific characteristics of the patient, material and design of the prosthesis, and surgical factors affect the short-term and long-term outcomes of primary TKR? Are there important perioperative interventions that influence outcomes? What are the indications, approaches, and outcomes for revision TKR? What factors explain disparities in the utilization of TKR in different populations? What are the directions for future research?

During the first day and part of the second day of the conference, experts will present the latest TKR research findings to the independent consensus panel. After weighing all of the scientific evidence, the panel will draft a statement addressing the questions listed above. The panel will present its draft statement to the public for comment at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, December 10. Following this public comment session, the panel will release its revised statement at a news conference at 2:00 p.m. and take questions from the media.

An evidence report on this topic, prepared by the Minnesota Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC), Minneapolis, Minnesota, under contract to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), will be considered by the panel. EPC evidence reports are comprehensive, systematic reviews and analyses of published scientific evidence. A summary of the Evidence Report on Total Knee Replacement will be available on December 10, 2003, the final day of the conference, at http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/epcix.htm. The full report will be available on-line shortly thereafter.

The consensus statement is the report of an independent panel and is not a policy statement of the NIH or the federal government. The NIH Consensus Development Program was established in 1977 to resolve in an unbiased manner controversial topics in medicine. To date, NIH has conducted 116 consensus development conferences addressing a wide range of medical issues of importance to health care providers, patients, and the general public.

The primary sponsors of this conference are the NIH Office of Medical Applications of Research and the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

Additional information about this conference, including the meeting agenda, local area hotels, and directions to NIH, is available at the NIH Consensus Development Program Web site at http://consensus.nih.gov. If you are attending the conference or press conference, please plan to take Metro to campus, as parking is virtually non-existent. In addition, vehicles as well as personal belongings are subject to search upon entrance to campus and/or facilities. Please visit http://www.nih.gov/about/visitorsecurity.htm for complete information about security procedures.

Note to TV Editors: The news conference at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 will be broadcast live via satellite on the following coordinates:

C-Band Galaxy 3 C, Transponder 4 Located at: 95 degrees West Downlink Frequency: 3780 Vertical Audio: 6.2 / 6.8

Test Time: 12:30 - 1:00 p.m. Broadcast: 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

Note to Radio Editors: An audio report of the conference results will be available after 4 p.m. December 10, 2003 from the NIH Radio News Service by calling 1-800-MED-DIAL (1-800-633-3425).

NIH Videocasting will broadcast the conference live on the Internet. Visit the Consensus Development Program homepage �� http://consensus.nih.gov/ �� or go directly to the NIH Videocast Web site �� http://videocast.nih.gov/ �� any day during the conference and look for the link to the conference under "Today's Events."