NCT05690347

Protocol for a Multicenter Study on (Cost)Effectiveness of the Back At Work After Surgery (BAAS): a Clinical Pathway for Knee Arthroplasty

Status unknown Last updated 19 January 2023

What this trial tests

trial testing Back At work After Surgery (BAAS) in Arthropathy of Knee in 150 participants. Status unknown.

Timeline

1 January 2022

Primary endpoint
1 July 2024

1 July 2025

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Academisch Medisch Centrum - Universiteit van Amsterdam (AMC-UvA)
Status	Status unknown
Study type	OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment	150
Start date	1 January 2022
Primary completion	1 July 2024
Estimated completion	1 July 2025
Sites	1 location across Netherlands

Drugs / interventions tested

• Back At work After Surgery (BAAS)

Conditions studied

• Arthropathy of Knee — all drugs for Arthropathy of Knee →

Sponsor

Academisch Medisch Centrum - Universiteit van Amsterdam (AMC-UvA) — full company profile →

Who can join

Adults 18 to 65, any sex, with Arthropathy of Knee. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

Background Optimizing return to work (RTW) after knee arthroplasty (KA) is becoming increasingly important due to a growing incidence of KA and poor RTW outcomes after KA. We developed the Back At work After Surgery (BAAS) clinical pathway for optimized RTW after KA. Since the effectiveness and cost analysis of the BAAS clinical pathway are still unknown, analysis on effectiveness and costs of BAAS is imperative.

Method This protocol paper has been written in line with the standards of Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trails. To assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness for RTW, we will perform a multicenter prospective cohort study with patients who decided to receive a total KA (TKA) or an unicompartmental KA (UKA). To evaluate the effectiveness of BAAS regarding RTW, a comparison to usual care will be made using individual patient data on RTW from prospectively performed cohort studies in the Netherlands.

Discussion One of the strengths of this study is that the feasibility for the BAAS clinical pathway was tested at first hand. Also, we will use validated questionnaires and functional tests to assess the patient's recovery using robust outcomes. Moreover, the intervention was performed in two hospitals serving the targeted patient group and to reduce selection bias and improve generalizability. The limitations of this study protocol are that the lead author has an active role as a medical case manager (MCM) in one of the hospitals. Additionally, we will use the data from other prospective Dutch cohort studies to compare our findings regarding RTW to usual care. Since we will not perform an RCT, we will use propensity analysis to reduce the bias due to possible differences between these cohorts.

Publications & conference data

3 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. The Effectiveness of the Back At work After Surgery (BAAS) Work-Integrated Care Pathway on Return to Work for Patients Receiving Knee Arthroplasty: A Study of Three Comparative Cohorts in the Netherlands.
   Strijbos DO, van der Sluis G, van Houtert WFC, Straat AC, et al · · 2025 · cited 3× · PMID 40956371 · DOI 10.1007/s10926-025-10331-1
2. Protocol for a multicenter study on effectiveness and economics of the Back At work After Surgery (BAAS): a clinical pathway for knee arthroplasty.
   Strijbos DO, van der Sluis G, van Houtert WFC, Straat AC, et al · · 2023 · cited 3× · PMID 36927339 · DOI 10.1186/s12891-023-06203-5
3. Return on Investment of the Back At Work After Surgery (BAAS) Care Pathway Compared to Care-as-Usual in Knee Arthroplasty.
   Strijbos DO, Straat AC, van der Sluis G, van Houtert WFC, et al · · 2025 · cited 2× · PMID 40971108 · DOI 10.1007/s10926-025-10328-w