title: [Arthroplasty registers as post-marketing surveillance systems: the Catalan Arthroplasty Register].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim is to present the functioning and results of the Catalan Arthroplasty Registry (RACat).
  
  
  METHODS
  The RACat arose by the initiative of the Catalan Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology, the Catalan Health Service (CHS) and the Catalan Agency for Health Information Assessment and Quality. Publicly funded hospitals sent information through the Internet (CHS Applications website) on knee and hip arthroplasties: patient identification, hospital, joint (hip/knee), type (primary/revision), side of operation, date of surgery and prosthesis (manufacturer's name and reference number). The quality of the data is analysed regularly. We estimate the risk of replacement by the Kaplan-Meier method.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 52 hospitals out of 62 send data to RACat, and information on 36,951 knee and 26,477 hip arthroplasties is available. Data quality improved between 2005 and 2010. In 2010 coverage exceeded 70%, with side of operation 97%, and prostheses identification of 80%. The risk of replacement at three years was 3.3% (95% CI:3.1-3.6) for knee, 2.9% (95% CI:2.5-3.3) for total hip, and 2.5% (95% CI:2.0-3.1) for partial hip.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Risk of replacement is higher than that observed in other registers, although data quality and its improvement over time should be taken into account.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The information available in the RACat will help to establish a standard that will enable hospitals to compare results.
authors.affiliation: Agència d'Informació, Avaluació i Qualitat en Salut. aallepuz@aatrm.catsalut.cat
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Allepuz
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Serra-Sutton
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tebé
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nardi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Portabella
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Espallargues
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006622:Hip Prosthesis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D007720:Knee Prosthesis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011358:Product Surveillance, Postmarketing / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012042:Registries; D012086:Reoperation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013030:Spain