FRIDAY, March 18 (HealthDay News) -- Total hip arthroplasty gives better hip function and improved quality of life compared to bipolar hemiarthroplasty in elderly, lucid patients with displaced fracture of the femoral neck, according to a study published in the March 2 issue of The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.
Carl Johan Hedbeck, M.D., from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden, and colleagues assessed the four-year outcome of a trial comparing the treatment of 120 elderly patients (without severe cognitive dysfunction) who had either total hip arthroplasty or bipolar hemiarthroplasty for an acute displaced femoral neck fracture. Hip function was assessed using the Harris Hip Score (maximum 100 points), and health-related quality of life was evaluated using the EuroQol score.
The investigators found that the improved hip function seen in the total hip arthroplasty group at one year persisted and increased with time. A significantly higher mean Harris Hip Score was seen in the total arthroplasty group compared to the hemiarthroplasty group at 24 months (87 versus 78) and 48 months (89 versus 75). The total hip arthroplasty group reported significantly improved health-related quality of life at 48 months compared to the bipolar hemiarthroplasty group.
"The results of the present study confirm the better results in terms of hip function and health-related quality of life after total hip arthroplasty as compared with bipolar hemiarthroplasty in elderly, lucid patients with a displaced fracture of the femoral neck," the authors write.
One or more of the authors disclosed a financial relationship with Trygg-Hansa Insurance Company, which partially funded the study.
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