Does pre-operative psychological distress affect patient satisfaction after primary total hip arthroplasty?

BACKGROUND: There are concerns that pre-operative psychological distress might be associated with reduced patient satisfaction after total hip replacement (THR). METHODS: We investigated this in a multi-centre prospective study between January 1999 and January 2002. We dichotomised the patients into the mentally distressed (MHS ≤ 56) and the not mentally distressed (MHS > 56) groups based on their pre-operative Mental Health Score (MHS) of SF36. RESULTS: 448 patients (340 not distressed and 108 distressed) completed the patient satisfaction survey. Patient satisfaction rate at five year was 96.66% (415/448). There was no difference in patient satisfaction or willingness to have the surgery between the two groups. None of pre-operative variables predicted five year patient satisfaction in logistic regression. CONCLUSIONS: Patient satisfaction after surgery may not be adversely affected by pre-operative psychological distress.