Evaluating the References of Insurance Policies for Computer-Assisted Navigation in Total Knee Arthroplasty Compared With the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Clinical Practice Guideline.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the quality and quantity of sources cited by insurance payers for computer-assisted navigation (CAN) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and to compare these sources with those cited by the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG). References were included from insurance payer policies on CAN that discussed the use of CAN in TKA, while every reference from the AAOS CPG for surgical navigation in TKA was included. Fifty-four unique articles from insurance payers met criteria, with 68.5% being primary journal articles and 18.5% being reviews. The quality of cited studies was relatively evenly distributed between level of evidence (LOE) I/II (42.6%) and LOE III and below (50.0%). The 14 references cited in the AAOS CPG were 100% primary articles and 100% LOE I/II. Only 16.3% of cited insurance references were AAOS CPG articles. Nine of the 14 AAOS CPG studies were not cited by any of the insurance payer policies. Compared with the AAOS CPG, insurance policies cited older articles with lower LOE. We recommend continued updating of the AAOS CPG and insurance policies as more research into the use of CAN in TKA is published. [<i>Orthopedics</i>. 2025;48(1):8-11.].