Preoperative Paralabral Cysts Predict More Significant Chondral Damage but Not 2-Year Functional Outcomes Following Arthroscopic Labral Repair

Relationship Between Neighborhood-Level Socioeconomic Status and Functional Outcomes After Hip Arthroscopy

BACKGROUND

Despite the growing volume of neighborhood-level health disparity research, there remains a paucity of prospective studies investigating the relationship between Area Deprivation Index (ADI) and functional outcomes for patients undergoing hip arthroscopy.

PURPOSE

To investigate the relationship between neighborhood-level socioeconomic status and functional outcomes after hip arthroscopy.

STUDY DESIGN

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

METHODS

A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data was performed on patients aged ≥18 years with minimum 1-year follow-up who underwent hip arthroscopy for the treatment of symptomatic labral tears. The study population was divided into ADILow and ADIHigh cohorts according to ADI score: a validated measurement of neighborhood-level socioeconomic status standardized to yield a score between 1 and 100. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) included the modified Harris Hip Score, Nonarthritic Hip Score, Hip Outcome Score-Activities of Daily Living, Hip Outcome Score-Sports-Specific Subscale, 33-item International Hip Outcome Tool, visual analog scale for pain, and patient satisfaction.

RESULTS

A total of 228 patients met inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis. After patients were stratified by ADI score (mean ± SD), the ADILow cohort (n = 113; 5.8 ± 3.0; range, 1-12) and ADIHigh cohort (n = 115; 28.0 ± 14.5; range, 13-97) had no differences in baseline patient demographics. The ADIHigh cohort had significantly worse preoperative baseline scores for all 5 PROMs; however, these differences were not present by 1-year follow-up. Furthermore, the 2 cohorts achieved similar rates of the minimal clinically important difference for all 5 PROMs and the Patient Acceptable Symptom State for 4 PROMs. When controlling for patient demographics, patients with higher ADI scores had greater odds of achieving the minimal clinically important difference for all PROMs except the 33-item International Hip Outcome Tool.

CONCLUSION

Although hip arthroscopy patients experiencing a greater neighborhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage exhibited significantly lower preoperative baseline PROM scores, this disparity resolved at 1-year follow-up. In fact, when adjusting for patient characteristics including ADI score, more disadvantaged patients achieved greater odds of achieving the minimal clinically important difference. The present study is merely a first step toward understanding health inequities among patients seeking orthopaedic care. Further development of clinical guidelines and health policy research is necessary to advance care for patients from disadvantaged communities.

Editorial Commentary: Preoperative Paralabral Cysts Do Not Have a Detrimental Effect on 2-Year Outcomes After Hip Arthroscopy, but They Can Still Have Predictive Value

The presence of hip paralabral cysts on magnetic resonance imaging is associated with labral tears and more extensive chondral damage. The 2-year follow-up results of patients with paralabral cysts are equivalent to patients who do not have paralabral cysts. However, since paralabral cysts are associated with more prearthritic hip cartilage damage, surgically addressing these hips sooner could yield better outcomes. Further research is needed to see if performing hip arthroscopy on patients with paralabral cysts more urgently yields better long-term outcomes than delaying surgery.