NCT06971757

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

Cost-effectiveness of Routine Follow-up at One Year After Total Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Compared to Check-up on Demand: a Multicenter Hybrid Stepped-wedge Cluster De-implementation Study

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 1,000 (estimated)
• Sponsor: JointResearch · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 50 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

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.

Conditions

• Hip Arthroplasty, Total
• Knee Arthroplasty, Total

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Routine Follow-Up (RFU)	Standard follow-up care with scheduled X-ray and clinical visit at 3 months and 1 year after surgery.
OTHER	Check-Up on Demand (COD)	Follow-up care with scheduled X-ray and clinical visit at 3 months and only at 1 year if requested.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-07-01
• Primary completion: 2028-08-31
• Completion: 2029-12-31
• First posted: 2025-05-14
• Last updated: 2025-11-18

Locations

9 sites across 1 country: Netherlands