RESEARCH ARTICLE
Hip Surgery Candidates: A Comparative Study of Hip Osteoarthritis and Prior Hip Fracture Patient Characteristics
Ray Marks*
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2008Volume: 2
First Page: 79
Last Page: 85
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-2-79
DOI: 10.2174/1874325000802010079
Article History:
Received Date: 31/3/2008Revision Received Date: 07/4/2008
Acceptance Date: 22/4/2008
Electronic publication date: 09/5/2008
Collection year: 2008

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/), which permits unrestrictive use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Aim:
To assess similarities and differences in patient-related characteristics before and after surgery for painful disabling hip osteoarthritis among elderly subgroups with and without a trauma history.
Method:
First, a cohort of 1000 hospitalized patients were assessed for trends in: perceived duration of the condition, pain intensity, functional performance ability, walking distance, body mass, and comorbidity characteristics among other factors. Then, the most salient of these patient-related characteristics were compared between 42 cases of hip osteoarthritis without a trauma history and 42 cases with a trauma history matched for age and gender, using medical records and standard data recording and analysis procedures.
Results:
Hip osteoarthritis cases with a prior hip fracture history had a longer duration of disability, and were more impaired functionally before surgery (p < 0.05) than those with no such history. They also had lower leg muscle strength and used more assistive devices.
Conclusion:
Patients undergoing hip replacement surgery for painful hip osteoarthritis who have a hip fracture history are likely to be more impaired and disabled than those with no such history.