High prevalence of metal detector activation and its psychological impact in patients with total knee arthroplasty: A case-control study.
case_control · Level III
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41323538.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1002/jeo2.70572 and PMC identifier 12661216.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Metal detectors in airports are designed to identify metallic objects on passengers, which can inadvertently trigger alarms for patients with total knee arthroplasty (TKA) implants. The main goal of this study was to compare the prevalence of metal detection at security airport between a cohort of patient who sustained a TKA and another group free of any metallic implants. The hypothesis was that patients with TKA would trigger metal detectors more frequently than those without TKA and this would have a detrimental impact on their whole postsurgical experience. A continuous, nonrandomised, case-control, cross-sectional study was carried out. Patients who underwent a TKA between 2020 and 2021 at the same hospital were included in this study. A control group was included to compare the results and improve the level of evidence. This cohort was recruited via patient fellows who accompanied them in clinics. A total of 101 patients were included, 51 patients in the TKA group (over 64 patients) set off the metal detector (79.7%, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 68.3-87.7) versus 5 in the control group (over 37 patients), (13.5%, 95% CI: 5.9-28.0). This difference was statistically significant (<i>p</i> < 0.0001). For those who triggered the alarm (51 patients in the TKA group), this event occurred at all security checkpoints they went through for 42 (82.4%) of them whereas in the control group it occurred 20% of the time. This difference was also statistically significant (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Additionally, 28 out of the 51 TKA patients who triggered alarms (54.9%) reported that the experience was bothersome and had a negative impact on their mood. TKA patients more frequently trigger metal detector alarms at airport security checkpoints than patients free of any prosthesis, which cause unnecessary stress and discomfort. As the global number of TKA procedures continues to rise, it is crucial to implement strategies that acknowledge the unique needs of patients with TKA, ensuring both security and comfort during air travel. Level III, retrospective comparative study (cross sectional).