Abstract
Purpose
Japanese Orthopaedic Association Hip Disease Evaluation Questionnaire (JHEQ) is subjective assessment of coxarthropathy and reflects the satisfaction level of the patient. Recently, the use of JHEQ as a postoperative assessment of total hip arthroplasty (THA) has become widespread. The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical outcomes of bilateral simultaneous THA through the direct anterior approach (DAA) using JHEQ.
Methods
This study included 34 patients (41 hips) who were treated with first THA at our hospital from January to March 2013 and were available for evaluation of clinical outcomes 1 year after surgery. Of these, 7 (2 males and 5 females; mean age, 54.7 years) underwent bilateral simultaneous THA (group B), and 27 (2 males and 25 females; mean age, 64.2 years) underwent unilateral THA (group U). Thirty patients were preoperatively diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis, and 4 were diagnosed with avascular necrosis of the femoral head. All patients were treated through DAA in a supine position under general anaesthesia. Items for evaluation included clinical outcomes, Japanese Orthopaedic Association Hip score (JOA score) and JHEQ.
Results
Average operative time per hip was 45.9 min (range, 34–79 min) in group B and 44.2 min (range, 32–71 min) in group U. Average blood loss was 221.4 g (range, 40–1040 g) in group B and 386.9 g (range, 70–1300 g) in group U. No major complications such as dislocation, bone fracture, nerve palsy or venous thromboembolism were observed. The average JOA score improved from 45.1 preoperatively to 93.7 at 1 year postoperatively in group B and from 47.2 preoperatively to 92.3 at 1 year postoperatively in group U. Average total JHEQ (pain/motion/mental status) improved from 21 (preoperative, 12/2/7) to 75 (1 year postoperatively, 27/23/25) in group B and from 26 (preoperative, 10/7/10) to 69 (1 year postoperatively, 25/21/24) in group U.
Discussion
Bilateral simultaneous THA was proactively performed when indicated at our hospital. In the present study, we observed greater improvement in JHEQ in patients treated with bilateral simultaneous THA than in those treated with unilateral THA. These findings suggest that bilateral simultaneous THA results in greater postoperative satisfaction of the patient.
