HAKA: Routine Follow-Up at 1 Year After Hip- or Knee Arthroplasty: Wasting Resources or Appropriate Healthcare?

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Hip Arthroplasty, Total, Knee Arthroplasty, Total

In brief

After undergoing total hip or total knee arthroplasty, current guidelines recommend routine follow-up with an X-ray within 3 months and again at 1 year. Follow-up at 5 years (for hip arthroplasties) or every 5 years (for knee arthroplasties) is also considered worthwhile according to the guideline. However, these follow-up appointments require considerable time from patients, caregivers, and healthcare professionals, and it is unclear whether they are truly beneficial. It is possible that a single follow-up within 3 months is sufficient. This could potentially prevent over 100,000 unnecessary hospital visits per year, resulting in significant cost savings. If patients or healthcare providers have concerns, they can always request an additional follow-up. The HAKA trial consists of three different work packages (WPs). This trial (WP1) investigates the 1-year follow-up, WP2 examines the 10-year follow-up, and WP3 is a qualitative study exploring the experiences and perceptions of patients and healthcare professionals. The aim of the HAKA trial is to safely reduce routine follow-up appointments after total hip or knee arthroplasty and to revise current clinical guidelines accordingly.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT06971757

Run by

JointResearch

People needed

1000

Starts

2025-07-01

Expected to finish

2029-12-31

Last updated by the study team

2025-11-18

Who can join

Age: 50 and older. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Painful and disabled hip or knee joint resulting from osteoarthritis
• Scheduled for primary THA or TKA surgery
• Age 50 years or older at the time of THA or TKA
• Capable and willing to complete questionnaires
• Proficient in Dutch or English
• Willing to provide informed consent

You may not qualify if…

• Other indication for surgery than osteoarthritis
• Scheduled for hip or knee revision arthroplasty, except a conversion from unicompartmental knee arthroplasty to TKA or from hip hemiarthroplasty/resurfacing to THA
• Already participating in this study due to a previous hip or knee surgery

Where it is running

• OLVG — Amsterdam, Netherlands (enrolling)
• Amphia — Breda, Netherlands (enrolling)
• Deventer Ziekenhuis — Deventer, Netherlands (enrolling)
• Admiraal de Ruyter Ziekenhuis — Goes, Netherlands (enrolling)
• Martini Ziekenhuis — Groningen, Netherlands (enrolling)
• Tergooi MC — Hilversum, Netherlands (enrolling)
• Canisius Wilhelmina Ziekenhuis — Nijmegen, Netherlands (enrolling)
• ZorgSaam Zeeuws Vlaanderen — Terneuzen, Netherlands (enrolling)
• RHOC — Zoetermeer, Netherlands (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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