Who is waiting to see the surgeon? Sociodemographic, clinical characteristics and previous osteoarthritis care of people with knee osteoarthritis referred to public hospitals in Victoria, Australia

Aim: To describe the sociodemographic, clinical characteristics, and previous care received by people with knee osteoarthritis awaiting orthopaedic assessment, and compare these factors between culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) participants and the wider population. Methods: 318 people with knee osteoarthritis referred for orthopaedic assessment at four Australian public hospitals were included. CALD was defined as being born in a non-English-speaking country. Baseline variables included age, sex, education level, body mass index (BMI), worst and average knee pain (0–100 numeric rating scale), knee-related quality of life (Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score – Quality of Life [KOOS-QoL, 0–100]) subscale, self-reported health (EuroQoL Visual Analogue Scale [EQ-VAS], 0–100), physical activity participation (The University of California, Los Angeles [UCLA] Physical Activity Scale), radiographic severity (Kellgren-Lawrence grade), and previous osteoarthritis care (OsteoArthritis Quality Indicator Score v2: OA-QIv2, 0–100). Group comparisons were made using independent t-tests and proportion tests. Results: Participants presented with (mean ± SD): age (67 ± 10 years); BMI (32.2 ± 7.3 kg/m2); knee pain (worst:74 ± 22 mm; average:53 ± 22 mm); KOOS-QoL (30 ± 19); EQ-VAS (63 ± 20 mm); and OA–QIv2 (49 ± 23). 52% had completed tertiary/vocational degrees. Compared with the wider population, CALD background participants (n = 69, 32 countries) were older (mean difference 5 years, 95%CI = 2 to 7), had lower BMI (−3.6 kg/m2, 95%CI = −5.5 to −1.7), and a smaller proportion had tertiary education (difference = −14%, 95%CI = −27% to −1%). Clinical characteristics were similar between groups. Conclusions: Regardless of CALD background, people with knee osteoarthritis in Australia typically present with clinical and radiographic symptoms that may warrant orthopaedic referral, yet may not receive optimal osteoarthritis care beforehand.