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INTRODUCTION: Aseptic total knee arthroplasty (TKA) failure has been associated with radiolucent lines. This study aimed to determine the impact of the early appearance of radiolucent lines (linear images of 1, 2, or > 2mm at the cement-bone interface) around the TKA on prosthetic survival and functional outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients during a 2-20 years follow-up.

METHODS:  We retrospectively analyzed a consecutive series of RA patients treated with TKA between 2000 and 2011. We comparatively analyzed patients with and without radiolucent lines around implants. Clinical outcomes were assessed with the Knee Society Score (KSS) collected before surgery, at years 2, 5, and 10, and at the last postoperative follow-up. The Knee Society Roentgenographic Evaluation System was used to analyze the impact of radiolucent lines around the implants at 1, 2, 5, and more than ten years of follow-up. The reoperation and prosthetic survival rates were calculated at the end of the follow-up.

RESULTS: The study series included 72 TKAs with a median follow-up of 13.2 years (range: 4.0-21.0), of which 16 (22.2%) had radiolucent lines. We did not observe aseptic failure, and prosthetic survival at the end of the study was 94.4% (n=68). The KSS improved significantly (p < 0.001) between preoperative values at 2, 5, and 10 years and the end of follow-up, with no differences between patients with and without radiolucent lines.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that the early appearance of radiolucent lines around a TKA in RA patients does not significantly impact prosthetic survival or long-term functional outcomes at 13 years of follow-up.