Overview of Total Knee Arthroplasty in Brazil: Regional Distribution and Temporal Evolution (2015-2025)
M.A. Rodrigues, M.A.V. De Freitas, V.S.D.S. Paz, M.E.S.M. Da Silva, D.D.S. FerreiraObjectives:
To describe the landscape of Total Knee Arthroplasties (TKA) performed within the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), detailing procedure volume, regional distribution, and annual evolution.
Methods:
A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted using secondary data from the SUS Hospital Information System (SIH/SUS). All approved TKA procedures from January 2015 to January 2025 were analyzed. Key variables included absolute procedure volume, regional percentage share, and annual variation.
Results:
A total of 79,692 TKAs were recorded. Regional distribution was highly skewed towards the Southeast (57.48%) and South (28.68%) regions, accounting for over 86% of procedures, compared to the North (1.48%), Northeast (7.92%), and Midwest (4.43%). Temporal analysis showed growth until 2019, a 52.9% decline in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and robust recovery starting in 2022, reaching record volumes in 2024 with a 16.91% increase over pre-pandemic levels.
Conclusion:
Significant regional disparities persist in TKA access across Brazil. Public policies targeting equity and strategic health planning are essential to address these structural inequalities and meet the growing demand.