Patient-perceived outcomes in thigh pain after primary arthroplasty of the hip.
Thigh pain after arthroplasty first was identified in the joint replacement literature in 1988; little information has been published about the functional status of patients who develop this complication. Eleven patients who reported thigh pain at 2 years after cementless primary total hip arthroplasty were matched with patients who did not report thigh pain on the following characteristics: age, gender, diagnosis, bone type, and surgical procedure (ie, unilateral or bilateral). Preoperative WOMAC function scores were different in these two groups (53.5 versus 39.7). There were no differences in SF-36 and Quality of Well Being scores in the two patient groups. There were also no differences in the WOMAC, SF-36, and Quality of Well Being scores at the 2-year followup. However, item analysis of the WOMAC indicated that patients with thigh pain were more likely to report at least some functional deficit relative to patients without thigh pain at the 2-year followup. Thigh pain does not seem to affect 2-year postoperative quality of life severely in patients who have had cementless hip arthroplasties with a tapered stem design. Selected functional activities will be impacted by the presence of thigh pain.


METHODS
Prognostic study, Level III (case-control study). See the Guidelines for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Lavernia
Carlos
C
Orthopaedic Institute at Mercy Hospital and the University of Miami School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology, Miami, FL 33133, USA. clavernia@mercymiami.org
D'apuzzo
Michele
M
Hernandez
Victor Hugo
VH
Lee
David J
DJ
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000523:psychology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D010149:Postoperative Pain / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012042:Registries; D013848:Thigh; D016896:Treatment Outcome