title: The use of indomethacin to prevent the formation of heterotopic bone after total hip replacement. A randomized, double-blind clinical trial.
abstract: We studied the effect of indomethacin on the prevention of formation of heterotopic bone after total hip replacement. In a randomized, double-blind clinical trial involving 201 patients, 102 patients received twenty-five milligrams of indomethacin three times daily for the first six postoperative weeks, and the other ninety-nine patients received a placebo. One year after the operation, eighty-nine of those who had received indomethacin had no sign of heterotopic ossification, and the remaining thirteen had a grade-I lesion. In the group that had received a placebo, twenty-seven had no heterotopic ossification; twenty-four, a grade-I lesion; thirty, a grade-II lesion; and eighteen, a grade-III lesion. Significantly fewer patients who had received indomethacin had formation of heterotopic bone compared with those who had been given a placebo (chi-square test, p less than 0.0005). Only patients who had grade-III formation of heterotopic bone had a significant reduction in movement of the hip.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D006622:Hip Prosthesis; D006801:Humans; D007213:Indomethacin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009999:Ossification, Heterotopic / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011897:Random Allocation
chemical_list: D007213:Indomethacin