ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To systematically review the role of two common prostheses(metal on metal and metal on polythene)in total hip replacement.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>Studies on two prostheses(metal on metal and metal on polythene)in total hip replacement were searched in databases including PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane library, CNKI database, WANFANG database, and VIP database using key words including"metal on metal", "metal on polythene", and "total hip replacement". Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.2 software.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>Metal on metal group was superior to metal on polythene group in terms of Harris function evaluation(WMD＝4.40, 95%CI: 3.50-5.31, P<0.01), operation time(WMD＝6.82, 95%CI: 4.50-9.13, P<0.01), whereas other indicators showed no significant difference between these two groups.</p><p><b>CONCLUSIONS</b>Compared with the prosthesis, metal on metal is better than metal on polythene in improving the Harris function when applied for total hip replacement. However, more high-quality large-scale randomized controlled trials are required to further verify it.</p>