10-Year natural course of early hip osteoarthritis in middle-aged persons with hip pain: a CHECK study

Effect of Corticosteroid Use on the Occurrence and Progression of Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head: A Nationwide Nested Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND

Although it is very well known that corticosteroids cause osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH), it is unclear as to which patients develop ONFH. Additionally, there are no studies on the association between corticosteroid use and femoral head collapse in ONFH patients. We aimed to investigate the association between corticosteroid use and the risk of ONFH among the general population and what factors affect ONFH occurrence. Additionally, we aimed to demonstrate which factors affect femoral head collapse and total hip arthroplasty (THA) after ONFH occurrence.

METHODS

A nationwide, nested case-control study was conducted with data from the National Health Insurance Service Physical Health Examination Cohort (2002 to 2019) in the Republic of Korea. We defined ONFH (N = 3,500) using diagnosis and treatment codes. Patients who had ONFH were matched 1:5 to form a control group based on the variables of birth year, sex, and follow-up duration. Additionally, in patients who have ONFH, we looked for risk factors for progression to THA.

RESULTS

Compared with the control group, ONFH patients had a low household income and had more diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and heavy alcohol use (drinking more than 3 to 7 drinks per week). Systemic corticosteroid use (≥1,800 mg) was significantly associated with an increased risk of ONFH incidence. However, lipid profiles, corticosteroid prescription, and cumulative doses of corticosteroid did not affect the progression to THA.

CONCLUSIONS

The ONFH risk increased rapidly when cumulative prednisolone use was ≥1,800 mg. However, oral or high-dose intravenous corticosteroid use and cumulative dose did not affect the prognosis of ONFH. Since the occurrence and prognosis of ONFH are complex and multifactorial processes, further study is needed.

Automated evaluation of hip abductor muscle quality and size in hip osteoarthritis: Localized muscle regions are strongly associated with overall muscle quality

Limited information exists regarding abductor muscle quality variation across its length and which locations are most representative of overall muscle quality. This is exacerbated by time-intensive processes for manual muscle segmentation, which limits feasibility of large cohort analyses. The purpose of this study was to develop an automated and localized analysis pipeline that accurately estimates hip abductor muscle quality and size in individuals with mild-to-moderate hip osteoarthritis (OA) and identifies regions of each muscle which provide best estimates of overall muscle quality. Forty-four participants (age 52.7 ± 16.1 years, BMI 23.7 ± 3.4 kg/m2, 14 males) with and without mild-to-moderate radiographic hip OA were recruited for this study. Unilateral hip magnetic resonance (MR) images were acquired on a 3.0 T MR scanner and included axial T1-weighted fast spin echo and 3D axial Iterative Decomposition of water and fat with Echo Asymmetry and Least-squares estimation (IDEAL-IQ) spoiled gradient-recalled echo (SPGR) with multi-peak fat spectrum modeling and single T2* correction. A three dimensional (3D) V-Net convolutional neural network was trained to automatically segment the gluteus medius (GMED), gluteus minimus (GMIN), and tensor fascia lata (TFL) on axial IDEAL-IQ. Agreement between manual and automatic segmentation and associations between axial fat fraction (FF) estimated from IDEAL-IQ and overall muscle FF were evaluated. Dice scores for automatic segmentation were 0.94, 0.87, and 0.91 for GMED, GMIN, and TFL, respectively. GMED, GMIN, and TFL volumetric and FF measures were strongly correlated (r: 0.92-0.99) between automatic and manual segmentations, where all values fell within the 95% limits of agreement of [-9.79 cm3, 17.43 cm3] and [-1.99%, 2.89%], respectively. Axial FF was significantly associated with overall FF with the strongest correlations at 50%, 50%, and 65% the length of the GMED, GMIN, and TFL muscles, respectively (r: 0.93-0.97). An automated and localized analysis can provide efficient and accurate estimates of hip abductor muscle quality and size across muscle length. Specific regions of the muscle may be used to estimate overall muscle quality in an abbreviated evaluation of muscle quality.

Can Patients Who Have Low-Grade Hip Osteoarthritis Expect the Same Outcome After Total Hip Arthroplasty Compared to Those Who Have End-Stage Osteoarthritis? - A Matched Case-Control Study

BACKGROUND

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is an effective procedure for patients with end-stage hip osteoarthritis (OA). In addition, when hip preservation surgery is no longer indicated due to the presence of early or mild arthritic changes, THA can also be considered. Whether these patients can expect the same outcome after THA as patients who have end-stage OA remains unclear. The goal of this study was to compare the clinical outcomes after THA of patients who have low-grade OA versus a matched cohort with end-stage OA.

METHODS

This is a retrospective, single-center, multisurgeon case-control study in a high-volume referral center. Based on a cohort of 2,189 primary anterior approach THAs (1,815 patients), 50 low-grade OA cases were matched 1:1 by age, sex, and body mass index to 50 controls who have end-stage OA. Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) were Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores and Short Form-36.

RESULTS

No significant differences in preoperative PROMs between low-grade and end-stage OA patients were found, except for 36-item Short Form Survey pain (33.0 versus 41.0; P = .045). In both groups a significant improvement of all PROMs was found postoperatively. However, all Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scores were significantly lower in the low-grade OA group compared to the end-stage OA group. In the group with low-grade OA, a significantly lower percentage of patients achieved the minimal clinically important difference and substantial clinical benefit after THA compared to the group with end-stage OA.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients who have low-grade OA can expect substantial clinical improvement after THA. However, the improvement is lower compared to patients who have end-stage OA. A thorough understanding of the factors that may lead to inferior clinical outcomes is imperative to improving the indications for THA in individuals who have low-grade OA.

Post-Arthroplasty Spatiotemporal Gait Parameters in Patients with Hip Osteoarthritis or Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip: An Observational Study

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is a preferred treatment for primary osteoarthritis (OA) or secondary degenerative arthropathy due to developmental hip dysplasia (DDH). Gait analysis is considered a gold standard for evaluating post-arthroplasty walking patterns. This study compared post-THA spatiotemporal gait parameters (SGPs) between OA and DDH patients and explored correlations with demographic and clinical variables. Thirty patients (15 per group) were recorded during gait and their SGPs were analyzed. Functionality was evaluated with the Oxford Hip Score (OHS). The OA patients were significantly older than DDH patients (p < 0.005). Significant and moderate to strong were the correlations between SGPs, age, and four items of the OHS concerning hip pain and activities of daily life (0.31 < Pearson's r < 0.51 all p < 0.05). Following THA, both groups exhibited similar levels of the examined gait parameters. Post-arthroplasty SGPs and OHS correlations indicate limitations in certain activities. Given the absence of pre-operative data and the correlation between age and SGPs and OHS, ANCOVA testing revealed that age adjusts OHS and SGP values, while pre-operative diagnosis has no main effect. These findings indicate that hip OA or DDH do not affect postoperative SGPs and patients' functionality. Future studies should examine both kinematic and kinetic data to better evaluate the post-THA gait patterns of OA and DDH patients.

Investigation of the Associations of Smoking With Hip Osteoarthritis: A Baseline Cross-Sectional and Four- to Five-Year Longitudinal Multicohort Study

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to investigate the effect of smoking on the prevalence, incidence, and progression of hip osteoarthritis (OA). We used data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative (OAI) and the Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK) studies.

METHODS

We analyzed 9,386 hips from 4,716 participants (OAI cohort) and 1,954 hips from 977 participants (CHECK cohort). The primary exposure was smoking status at baseline, categorized as current, former, or never smoker. Outcomes of radiographic hip OA (RHOA) and symptomatic hip OA were evaluated both cross-sectionally at baseline and longitudinally over a 4- to 5-year follow-up, with adjustments for major covariates.

RESULTS

No significant differences were observed between current or former smokers and never smokers for any of the outcomes examined, either at baseline or at the 4- to 5-year follow-up. In the cross-sectional analysis, the odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals for the prevalence of RHOA for current and former smokers were 1.29 (0.68-2.46) and 0.99 (0.70-1.40) in the OAI cohort and 1.38 (0.78-2.44) and 0.85 (0.54-1.32) in the CHECK cohort, respectively. In the longitudinal analysis, odds ratio with 95% confidence intervals for the incidence of RHOA were 1.03 (0.23-4.50) and 0.92 (0.46-1.85) in the OAI cohort and 0.61 (0.34-1.11) and 1.00 (0.69-1.44) in the CHECK cohort, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Our study found no clear association between smoking and the prevalence, incidence, or progression of RHOA or symptomatic hip OA, either at baseline or over a 4- to 5-year period.

Patterns of knee osteoarthritis management in general practice: a retrospective cohort study using electronic health records

OBJECTIVE

This study determined patterns of knee osteoarthritis (OA) management by general practitioners (GPs) using routine healthcare data from Dutch general practices from 2011 to 2019.

DESIGN

A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the Integrated Primary Care Information database between 2011 and 2019. Electronic health records (EHRs) of n = 750 randomly selected knee OA patients (with either codified or narrative diagnosis) were reviewed against eligibility criteria and n = 503 patients were included. Recorded information was extracted on GPs' management from six months before to three years after diagnosis and patterns of management were analysed.

RESULTS

An X-ray referral was the most widely recorded management modality (63.2%). The next most widely recorded management modalities were a referral to secondary care (56.1%) and medication prescription or advice (48.3%). Records of recommendation of/referral to other primary care practitioners (e.g. physiotherapists) were found in only one third of the patients. Advice to lose weight was least common (1.2%). Records of medication prescriptions or recommendation of/referral to other primary care practitioners were found more frequently in patients with an X-ray referral compared to patients without, while records of secondary care referrals were found less frequently. Records of an X-ray referral were often found in narratively diagnosed knee OA patients before GPs recorded a code for knee OA in their EHR.

CONCLUSION

These findings emphasize the importance of better implementing non-surgical management of knee OA in general practice and on initiatives for reducing the overuse of X-rays for diagnosing knee OA in general practice.

Imaging of early-stage osteoarthritis: the needs and challenges for diagnosis and classification

In an effort to boost the development of new management strategies for OA, there is currently a shift in focus towards the diagnosis and treatment of early-stage OA. It is important to distinguish diagnosis from classification of early-stage OA. Diagnosis takes place in clinical practice, whereas classification is a process to stratify participants with OA in clinical research. For both purposes, there is an important opportunity for imaging, especially with MRI. The needs and challenges differ for early-stage OA diagnosis versus classification. Although it fulfils the need of high sensitivity and specificity for making a correct diagnosis, implementation of MRI in clinical practice is challenged by long acquisition times and high costs. For classification in clinical research, more advanced MRI protocols can be applied, such as quantitative, contrast-enhanced, or hybrid techniques, as well as advanced image analysis methods including 3D morphometric assessments of joint tissues and artificial intelligence approaches. It is necessary to follow a step-wise and structured approach that comprises, technical validation, biological validation, clinical validation, qualification, and cost-effectiveness, before new imaging biomarkers can be implemented in clinical practice or clinical research.

Treatment of Chronic Degenerative Hip Pain in a Male Patient With Cerebral Palsy Four Decades After Reverse Osteotomy

Patients with cerebral palsy (CP) frequently require surgical hip interventions in early adulthood due to spasticity-related gait abnormalities. In most instances, these cases are characterized by severe restrictions on mobility. This is the case of a male patient with CP who underwent right proximal femoral open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) and reverse osteotomy for right hip subluxation in young adulthood. Patients with CP who undergo total hip arthroplasty (THA) or ORIF with reverse osteotomy often require future revision. The patient was initially given an estimated 10-year longevity for his plate and screw construct (hardware). Forty-four years later, the patient presented with debilitating chronic bilateral hip pain, requiring the assistance of a cane for ambulation. There is a limited body of knowledge on ORIF and reverse osteotomy follow-up in patients with CP within a 30- to 50-year period. At the 44th-year follow-up, CT and X-ray imaging found postoperative changes in the right femur, including intact hardware, bilateral acetabular dysplasia, right femoral stress fracture, progression of hip arthritis, and right iliopsoas bursitis. Surgery for hardware revision was not indicated. Gradual restoration of function was achieved over a 14-month period with conservative management. This case suggests that physical therapy (PT), exercise, and sporadic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use are effective for improving chronic degenerative changes, associated bursitis, and loss of function in patients who developed CP-induced gait complications in young adulthood. These improvements can be made several decades after undergoing ORIF and osteotomies. This course of treatment was effective in improving the patient's quality of life without additional surgical interventions.

Nocturnal pain and fatigue in middle-aged persons with hip symptoms suspected to be osteoarthritis, is there a link in 10-year follow-up of the CHECK study?

Objective

To explore the prevalence of nocturnal pain and fatigue in participants with hip symptoms suspected to be early osteoarthritis (OA) and to test the mediating effect of nocturnal pain on the association between hip OA pain and fatigue.

Methods

We included participants with hip pain but no knee pain at baseline, from the Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee (CHECK)-study. Severity of hip OA pain was determined using the Numeric-Rating-Scale-pain-score last week. Fatigue was assessed using the SF-36 Fatigue subscale. Nocturnal pain was determined using the WOMAC-question: "How much pain have you experienced in the last 48 ​h at night while in bed?". Hip OA pain, nocturnal pain and fatigue were measured repeatedly during 10-year follow-up. Path analysis were used per time point to determine the direct effect of OA pain on fatigue and the indirect effect through nocturnal pain.

Results

In 170 participants (female: 76%; mean age: 55.7 years; mean BMI: 25.5 ​kg/m²) the prevalence of nocturnal pain varied between 22 and 35% and the prevalence of fatigue ranged between 14 and 18%. Hip OA pain was associated with nocturnal pain and fatigue. The direct effect of hip OA pain on fatigue was significant at all-time points. No significant mediating effect of nocturnal pain was found.

Conclusion

In this cohort of participants suspected to have early hip OA, the prevalence of fatigue remained stable and the prevalence of nocturnal pain decreased slightly over 10-year follow-up. We did not find a mediating effect of nocturnal pain in the pathway between hip OA pain and fatigue.

The complexity of decision-making for total hip arthroplasty in early osteoarthritis

Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2023;12(5):306–308.

A review of quality-of-life in elderly osteoarthritis

INTRODUCTION

Osteoarthritis (OA) is the commonest joint disease in the world. Although aging is not invariably associated with OA, aging of the musculoskeletal system increases susceptibility to OA. Pain and reduced function due to OA, negatively impact health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in the elderly.

AREAS COVERED

We searched PubMed and Google Scholar with search term "osteoarthritis' combined with terms 'elderly' 'ageing' 'healthrelated quality of life' 'burden' "prevalence 'hip osteoarthritis' 'knee osteoarthritis' 'hand osteoarthritis' to identify relevant articles. This article discusses the global impact and joint-specific burden due to OA and the challenges in assessment of HRQoL in elderly with OA. We further describe some HRQoL determinants that particularly impact elderly persons with OA. These determinants include physical activity, falls, psychosocial consequences, sarcopaenia, sexual health, and incontinence. The usefulness of physical performance measures, as an adjunct to assessing HRQoL is explored. The review concludes by outlining strategies to improve HRQoL.

EXPERT OPINION

Assessment of HRQoL in elderly with OA is mandatory if effective interventions/treatment are to be instituted. But existent HRQoL assessments have shortcomings when used in elderly§. It is recommended that determinants of QoL which are unique to the elderly, be examined with greater detail and weightage in future studies.

Shoes for self-managing chronic hip Pain: the SCHIPP randomized clinical trial protocol

BACKGROUND

Chronic hip pain is common and disabling and is largely due to osteoarthritis (OA). Self-management is recommended by international OA clinical guidelines yet there are few effective treatment options. Footwear has been suggested as a self-management approach, given that foot motion influences hip forces. Currently, guidelines advocate 'stable supportive' shoes for people with OA, however this is based solely on expert opinion given no research has investigated whether these shoes are effective at reducing symptoms in people with OA-related chronic hip pain. Therefore, this randomized controlled trial (RCT) aims to determine if stable supportive footwear reduces hip pain during walking compared to flat flexible footwear in people with chronic hip pain consistent with OA.

METHODS

This trial is a 6-month, participant- and assessor-blinded, pragmatic, comparative effectiveness, superiority RCT conducted in Melbourne, Australia. We are recruiting 120 participants aged over 45 years with chronic hip pain consistent with OA from the community. Following baseline assessment, participants are randomized to receive either i) stable supportive shoes or ii) flat flexible shoes. Participants are permitted to choose two different pairs of shoes in their allocated group from a range of options that match prespecified shoe classification criteria. They are advised to wear either pair of study shoes daily for a minimum of 6 hours each day for 6 months. The primary outcome is the 6-month change in average hip pain on walking in the last week. Secondary outcomes include changes in other measures of hip pain, symptoms, function in daily living and sports and recreation, hip-related quality of life, pain at other sites, adverse events, and physical activity. Other measures include co-intervention use, adherence, shoe comfort, descriptive characteristics, footwear characteristics, and objective foot measures.

DISCUSSION

This RCT will determine whether stable supportive shoes reduce hip pain during walking more than flat flexible shoes in people with chronic hip pain. Outcomes will help to inform footwear recommendations in international clinical guidelines for OA-related chronic hip pain, which to date have been based solely on expert opinion because of an absence of RCTs.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry reference: ACTRN12621001532897.

OA-Pain-Sense: Machine Learning Prediction of Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis Pain from IMU Data

Joint pain is a prominent symptom of Hip and Knee Osteoarthritis (OA), impairing patients’ movements and affecting the joint mechanics of walking. Self-report questionnaires are currently the gold standard for Hip OA and Knee OA pain assessment, presenting several problems, including the fact that older individuals often fail to provide accurate self-pain reports. Passive methods to assess pain are desirable. This study aims to explore the feasibility of OA-Pain-Sense, a passive, automatic Machine Learning-based approach that predicts patients’ self-reported pain levels using SpatioTemporal Gait features extracted from the accelerometer signal gathered from an anterior-posterior wearable sensor. To mitigate inter-subject variability, we investigated two types of data rescaling: subject-level and dataset-level. We explored six different binary machine learning classification models for discriminating pain in patients with Hip OA or Knee OA from healthy controls. In rigorous evaluation, OA-Pain-Sense achieved an average accuracy of 86.79% using the Decision Tree and 83.57% using Support Vector Machine classifiers for distinguishing Hip OA and Knee OA patients from healthy subjects, respectively. Our results demonstrate that OA-Pain-Sense is feasible, paving the way for the development of a pain assessment algorithm that can support clinical decision-making and be used on any wearable device, such as smartphones.

Course of pain and fluctuations in pain related to suspected early hip osteoarthritis: the CHECK study

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the prevalence during a 10-year follow-up of clinically relevant fluctuations in pain and the course of hip pain in participants with hip complaints suspected to be early stage hip osteoarthritis (OA). To distinguish between participants with relevant fluctuations in pain and those without based on baseline characteristics.

METHODS

Data were collected at baseline and after 2, 5, 8, and 10 years on 495 participants from the Cohort Hip and Cohort Knee Study (CHECK) with hip pain at baseline. Baseline demographic, anamnestic, and physical-examination characteristics were assessed. The primary outcome was levels of pain in the past week (scored using 0-10 Numeric Rating Scale) at follow-up assessments. Relevant fluctuation was defined as average absolute residuals greater than 1 after fitting a straight line to the participant's pain scores over time.

RESULTS

The majority of the participants (76%) had stable or decreasing pain. Relevant fluctuations were found in 37% of the participants. The following baseline variables were positively associated with the presence of relevant fluctuations: higher levels of pain in the past week, use of pain transformation as a coping style, higher number of comorbidities, use of pain medication, and higher levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. No associations were found for baseline radiographic hip OA or clinical hip OA.

CONCLUSION

During a 10-year follow-up, the majority of participants had stable or decreasing pain levels. In those participants with relevant fluctuation (37%), a limited number of baseline variables were associated with increased odds of having relevant fluctuations in pain.

Photoactivated leucocyte-rich platelet-rich plasma treatment in reduction of bone marrow edema in hip osteoarthritis

Aim: To describe the successful treatment of bone marrow edema in the setting of hip osteoarthritis using ultrasound-guided injection of photoactivated leukocyte-rich platelet-rich plasma (LR-PRP). Setting: Outpatient clinic. Patient: 65-year old female with antalgic and listing gait. Case description: The patient presented with a 2-week history of left hip pain. Exam revealed restriction and pain at end range of motion. Imaging showed extensive bone marrow edema and hip effusion. The patient underwent four weekly photoactivated LR-PRP treatments. Results: The patient reported a significant reduction in pain with MRI showing an extensive resolution of bone marrow edema and complete pain relief at 2 and 6 months post-treatment, respectively. Conclusion: Photoactivated LR-PRP may be considered as a treatment option for patients with marrow edema in the setting of hip osteoarthritis.

Prognostic factors of total hip replacement during a 2-year period in participants enrolled in supervised education and exercise therapy: a prognostic study of 3657 participants with hip osteoarthritis

Background

Evidence on prognostic factors associated with progression to total hip replacement (THR) in hip osteoarthritis (OA) is for the most patient- and disease-specific characteristics either conflicting or inconclusive. Therefore, the objectives of this study of participants with hip OA enrolled in a structured program of supervised education and exercise therapy were to describe the rate of THR and to identify prognostic factors for receiving THR within the following 2 years.

Methods

Participants aged ≥ 45 years with hip OA enrolled in Good Life with osteoArthritis in Denmark (GLA:D®) from July 2014 to March 2017 were included. Potential prognostic factors included demographic and disease-specific baseline characteristics and measures of physical activity and quality of life (QoL). Information on THR was retrieved from The Danish National Patient Registry. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was developed.

Results

Of 3657 included participants, 30% received a THR within 2 years. Of the 100 participants already wait-listed for THR, 60% had the procedure. Of 22 candidate prognostic factors, 14 were statistically significant for receiving THR. Factors associated with a faster rate of THR included being “male” (HR 1.43), having “self-reported radiographic hip OA” (HR 2.32), being “wait-listed for THR” (HR 2.17), and having a higher “pain intensity” (HR 1.01). In contrast, faster “walking speed” (HR 0.64), better “hip-related QoL” (HR 0.98), and having “three or more comorbidities” (HR 0.62) were predictive of a slower rate of THR.

Conclusion

During the 2-year follow-up period, 30% of the cohort received a THR. Notably, 40% of those wait-listed for THR when entering the program did not receive THR within 2 years. A number of baseline prognostic factors for receiving THR were identified.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13075-021-02608-6.