Comparison of hip function and quality of life of total hip arthroplasty and resurfacing arthroplasty in the treatment of young patients with arthritis of the hip joint at 5 years.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the medium-term clinical effectiveness of total hip arthroplasty and resurfacing arthroplasty.

DESIGN: Single centre, two-arm, parallel group, assessor blinded, randomised controlled trial with 1:1 treatment allocation.

SETTING: A large teaching hospital in England.

PARTICIPANTS: 122 patients older than 18 years with severe arthritis of the hip joint, suitable for resurfacing arthroplasty of the hip. Patients were excluded if they were considered to be unable to adhere to trial procedures or complete questionnaires.

INTERVENTIONS: Total hip arthroplasty (replacement of entire femoral head and neck); hip resurfacing arthroplasty (replacement of the articular surface of femoral head only, femoral neck remains intact). Both procedures replaced the articular surface of the acetabulum.

OUTCOMES: The outcome measures were hip function assessed using the Oxford Hip Score (OHS) and health-related quality of life assessed using the EuroQol (EQ-5D). Patients were followed up annually for a minimum of 5 years. Outcome data were modelled using the generalised estimating equation methodology to explore temporal variations during follow-up.

RESULTS: 60 patients were randomly assigned to hip resurfacing arthroplasty and 62 to total hip arthroplasty. 95 (78%) of the 122 original study participants provided data at 5 years. There was a small decrease in both hip functions and quality of life in both groups of patients each year during the 5-year follow-up period. However, there was no evidence of a significant difference between treatments group in the OHS (P=0.333) or the EQ-5D (P=0.501).

CONCLUSIONS: We previously reported no difference in outcome in the first year after surgery. The current medium-term results also show no evidence of a difference in hip function or health-related quality of life in the 5 years following a total hip arthroplasty versus resurfacing arthroplasty.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN33354155. UKCRN 4093.