Fate of untreated asymptomatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head

BACKGROUND: Magnetic resonance imaging has made it possible to detect asymptomatic lesions of osteonecrosis of the femoral head before abnormalities appear on plain radiographs. The extent of a necrotic lesion is known to be an important prognostic factor. In this study, we evaluated the fate of untreated asymptomatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head with an emphasis on the size of the lesion. We hypothesized that a lesion smaller than a certain size would not progress to symptomatic disease. METHODS: One hundred and five initially asymptomatic hips of patients with bilateral nontraumatic osteonecrosis of the femoral head who had been followed without any treatment for at least five years or until pain developed were enrolled in this study. The extent of a lesion was estimated according to the area of the lesion based on a two-dimensional analysis on magnetic resonance images or on plain radiographs at the time of diagnosis. RESULTS: Sixty-two hips became symptomatic, and forty-three hips remained asymptomatic for more than five years (average, eight years and seven months). Of the twenty-one hips with a small necrotic lesion (50% of the area of the femoral head), fifty became painful. Forty-six of the sixty-two hips that became symptomatic required surgery. Pain developed within five years after the diagnosis in fifty-eight (94%) of the sixty-two symptomatic hips. CONCLUSIONS: No treatment appears to be necessary for asymptomatic necrotic lesions with an area smaller than 30% of the femoral head, as the vast majority of these lesions will remain asymptomatic for more than five years

Alumina-on-Alumina Total Hip Arthroplasty A Concise Follow-up, at a Minimum of Ten Years, of a Previous Report

We previously reported the five-to-six-year results of the use of third-generation alumina-on-alumina bearings in a consecutive series of 100 primary cementless total hip arthroplasties. This report presents the longer-term outcomes of these same bearings, at a minimum of ten years postoperatively. Eighty-six of eighty-eight hips available for the study retained the original bearings at the time of the latest follow-up. Thirteen hips were associated with noise, and six hips demonstrated fretting of the femoral neck on radiographs. Two hips required a change of the bearings because of a ceramic head fracture. The ten-year survival rate of the alumina-on-alumina total hip prostheses, with revision of any implant for any reason as the end point, was 99.0%. On the basis of those results, we concluded that the rate of survival of primary cementless total hip prostheses with third-generation alumina-on-alumina bearings is excellent at ten years. However, the risk of ceramic fracture, noise, and impingement between the metal neck and the ceramic liner should be a concern to surgeons, and patients should be informed of these risks before surgery.Koo KH, 2008, J BONE JOINT SURG AM, V90A, P329, DOI 10.2106/JBJS.F.01489Sugano N, 2007, J BONE JOINT SURG BR, V89B, P455Yoo JJ, 2005, J BONE JOINT SURG AM, V87A, P530, DOI 10.2106/JBJS.D01753Allain J, 1998, J BONE JOINT SURG AM, V80A, P1355Joshi RP, 1998, J BONE JOINT SURG BR, V80B, P585MARTELL JM, 1993, J BONE JOINT SURG AM, V75A, P554MALONEY WJ, 1990, J BONE JOINT SURG AM, V72A, P1025BELLAMY N, 1988, J RHEUMATOL, V15, P1833ENGH CA, 1987, J BONE JOINT SURG BR, V69, P45SARMIENTO A, 1985, J BONE JOINT SURG AM, V67A, P48GRUEN TA, 1979, CLIN ORTHOP RELAT R, P17DELEE JG, 1976, CLIN ORTHOP RELAT R, P20HARRIS WH, 1969, J BONE JOINT SURG AM, VA 51, P737KAPLAN EL, 1958, J AM STAT ASSOC, V53, P457

Alumina-on-alumina total hip arthroplasty. A five-year minimum follow-up study

BACKGROUND: Ceramic-on-ceramic couplings are attractive alternative bearing surfaces that have been reported to eliminate or reduce problems related to polyethylene wear debris. Disappointing experiences with alumina ceramic bearings in the past have led to many improvements in the manufacture and design of ceramic implants. The purpose of the present study was to report the results of contemporary alumina-on-alumina total hip arthroplasties with regard to wear, osteolysis, and fracture of the ceramic after a minimum duration of follow-up of five years. METHODS: We evaluated the results of a consecutive series of 100 primary alumina-on-alumina total hip arthroplasties that had been performed with use of a metal-backed socket and a cementless stem in eighty-four patients. All of the patients were sixty-five years of age or younger (mean age, forty-one years), and a single surgeon performed all of the procedures. After a minimum duration of follow-up of sixty months, one patient (one hip) had died and four patients (six hips) had been lost to follow-up, leaving a total of seventy-nine patients (ninety-three hips) available for study. All of these patients were evaluated clinically and radiographically with special attention to wear, periprosthetic osteolysis, and ceramic failure. RESULTS: The mean Harris hip score was 97 points at the time of the latest follow-up evaluation. All prostheses demonstrated radiographic evidence of bone ingrowth. No implant was loose radiographically, and no implant was revised. Ceramic wear was not detectable in the thirty-seven hips in which the femoral head could be differentiated from the cup on radiographs. Periprosthetic osteolysis was not observed in any hip. A fracture of the alumina femoral head and a peripheral chip fracture of the alumina insert occurred in one hip following a motor-vehicle accident. CONCLUSIONS: The results of contemporary alumina-on-alumina total hip arthroplasty with a metal-backed socket and a cementless stem were encouraging after a minimum duration of follow-up of five years. We believe that these improved alumina-on-alumina bearing implants offer a promising option for younger, active patients

Femoral Head Fracture without Dislocation by Low-Energy Trauma in a Young Adult

We describe the case of a healthy young man with a femoral head fracture by low-energy trauma that occurred without evidence of hip dislocation. While plain radiographs showed no definite fracture or dislocation, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a femoral head fracture with a wedge-shaped cortical depression at the superomedial aspect of the femoral head. Our patient reported feeling that the right hip had been displaced from its joint for a moment. This probably represented subluxation with spontaneous relocation. The characteristic findings and possible mechanisms of this fracture were postulated on the basis of the sequential 3 dimensional-CT and MRI. The clinical results of conservative treatment were better than those of previously reported indentation fractures

Objective response by mRECIST as a predictor and potential surrogate end point of overall survival in advanced HCC

Background & Aims: The Modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST) was developed to overcome the limitations of standard RECIST criteria in response assessment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We aimed to investigate whether objective response by mRECIST accurately predicted overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced HCC treated with systemic targeted therapies and also to preliminarily assess this endpoint as a potential surrogate of OS.Methods: Individual patient data from the BRISK-PS randomized phase III trial comparing brivanib vs. placebo (the first to prospectively incorporate mRECIST) were used to analyze objective response as a predictor of OS in a time-dependent covariate analysis. Patients with available imaging scans during follow-up were included (n = 334; 85% of those randomized). Moreover, a correlation of the survival probability in deciles vs. the observed objective response was performed to evaluate its suitability as a surrogate end-point.Results: Objective response was observed in 11.5% and 1.9% of patients treated with brivanib and placebo respectively, and was associated with a better survival (median OS 15.0 vs. 9.4 months, p < 0.001). In addition, objective response had an independent prognostic value (HR = 0.48; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.26-0.91, p = 0.025) along with known prognostic factors. Finally, objective response showed promising results as a surrogate of OS in this trial (R = -0.92; 95% CI, -1 to -0.73, p < 0.001). It was an early indicator of the treatment effect (median time to objective response was 1.4 months).Conclusions: Objective response by mRECIST in advanced HCC predicts OS and thus can be considered as a candidate surrogate end-point. Further studies are needed to support this finding.Lay summary: There is a need to identify surrogate end-points for overall survival in advanced hepatocellular carcinoma. We studied patients from the phase III BRISK trial, comparing brivanib treatment with placebo after sorafenib progression. We demonstrate that objective response is an independent predictor of survival and qualifies as a potential surrogate end-point for overall survival in this patient population.Clinical trial number: NCT00825955