Severe degenerative joint disease. Mild and moderately severe hemophilia A

G. S. Gilchrist, A. B. Hagedorn and R. N. Stauffer

Severe degenerative joint disease developed in three adults with mild to moderately severe hemophilia A, as judged by the clinical course and by levels of factor VIII coagulant. Bilateral total hip arthroplasty was required in one patient, unilateral hip arthroplasty in the second, and a recommendation for bilateral knee replacement in the third. The pathogenesis of the arthropathy may be multifactorial and the result of repeated joint hemorrhage that remains unrecognized and inadequately treated. These observations suggest the need for more careful monitoring of patients who have relatively mild hemophilia.