Introduction:

total knee arthroplasty has gained popularity over decreasing pain, restoring mobility and improving patients’ quality of life. At the institutional level, there is no multidisciplinary model in the treatment of our patients, and in our environment, physical rehabilitation starts late, making it difficult for patients to reincorporate and attain adequate pain control.

Material and methods:

a controlled, randomized, prospective and longitudinal study was conducted, 55 patients underwent total knee arthroplasty, assigned to two study groups: the ERAS (enhanced recovery after surgery) group (n = 27) and the usual group (n = 28). Inclusion criteria were patients with Kellgren-Lawrence classification grade 4 gonarthrosis, age between 30-70 years and follow-up for six months. Descriptive statistics were performed using medians and interquartile range, while inferential statistics were performed using the Kruskal-Wallis test.

Results:

the results obtained at six months showed no statistically significant differences in age (p = 0.327) and gender (p = 0.588). The results obtained in the scales of VAS, WOMAC and IKDC showed statistically significant difference (p = 0.000). The rapid recovery group with a 120o flexion median and the usual group with 90o flexion, both groups with 0o extension.

Conclusions:

the enhanced recovery after surgery pathway in joint replacement procedures showed good results on pain, function, mobility and complications compared to patients undergoing usual management.