The Daily Activity Questionnaire: a novel questionnaire to assess patient activity after total hip arthroplasty.

Expensive electronic accelerometers are the only validated method to determine patient activity levels. The aim of this study was to develop a clinical questionnaire to assess patient activity. The Daily Activity Questionnaire (DAQ) was developed and evaluated using 3 groups of patients with osteoarthritis of the hip. A total of 160 patients underwent 855 days of monitoring. Practicability, reliability, and validity of the new questionnaire were assessed. The test-retest reliability of the DAQ was comparable to the electronic accelerometer StepWatch (ICC = 0.77-0.89). A significant correlation between the DAQ and the StepWatch was found (r = 0.742). The DAQ is a reliable and valid instrument to measure patient activity.

Calcaneal lengthening for planovalgus deformity in children with cerebral palsy.

BACKGROUND: In children with cerebral palsy, planovalgus deformity of the foot is common. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of calcaneal lengthening for the treatment of planovalgus foot deformity in children with cerebral palsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 19 children (28 feet) treated between 1996 and 2004 in our institution. There were 14 ambulating (19 feet) and 5 nonambulating children (9 feet). The average age of the children at time of surgery was 8.6 years. Followup averaged 4.3 years. RESULTS: We found satisfactory results in 75% of the feet clinically and in 79% radiologically according to Mosca's criteria. We saw no overcorrection but a relapse of the deformity in seven cases. There were six unsatisfactory radiological results, two (out of 19) in the ambulating and four (out of nine) in the nonambulating group. Ambulating children had a significantly better clinical and radiological outcome than nonambulating children (p = 0.042). A significant correlation was found between Ankle-hindfoot Score and clinical result according to Mosca's criteria (p = 0.001). CONCLUSION: In ambulatory children with cerebral palsy calcaneal lengthening is an effective procedure for the correction of mild to moderate planovalgus foot deformities. In nonambulatory children with severe plano-valgus deformities of the foot, calcaneal lengthening cannot be recommended because of the high relapse rate in these patients.

Patient activity after total hip arthroplasty declines with advancing age.

Evaluation of patient activity is essential for clinical decision making before THA. To correlate age progression to patient activity after THA, we determined the number of walking cycles of 105 patients in different age groups by decades. Patients on average performed 6144 walking cycles per day (2.24 million cycles per year). Men were more active than women. The highest activity occurred in patients between 50 and 59 years of age, with a constant decrease in activity with advancing age. However, within age groups, we observed up to sixfold differences in the number of walking cycles per day. In addition to declining activity with advancing age, higher body mass index correlated with lower step counts. The high mean measured number of walking cycles, which were even higher than those reported for subjects without an arthroplasty, suggests patients benefit from THA. Female gender, advanced age, and obesity correlated with lower activity. Owing to the high intragroup variability of our results, preoperative evaluation of patient activity levels, individual patient factors, and patient demands, should be considered in clinical practice.

No migration of acetabular cups after prophylaxis for heterotopic ossification.

The possibility of migration of cementless cups in total joints after prophylaxis of heterotopic ossification with irradiation or nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs is a concern. Data investigating component stability with digital methods are lacking. This prospective study analyzed the migration of cementless cups after indomethacin and irradiation prophylaxis with the digital Einzel-Bild-Röntgen-Analyse tool. The irradiation group (106 hips) and the indomethacin group (98 hips) were compared with 82 hips that did not receive any prophylaxis. The same cementless acetabular implants were used in all cases, and patients were observed clinically and radiographically at 2 and 5 years. At the 5-year followup, the number of cups that showed migration greater than 1 mm in the irradiation group (five), the indomethacin group (three), and the control group (four) were not different. No cup was considered loose on the radiographs and no patient underwent revision surgery. The results of our study indicate irradiation or short-course use of indomethacin for prophylaxis of heterotopic ossification did not negatively affect the stability of cementless cups in primary total hip arthroplasties.

Reliability, validity and responsiveness of the German Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment Questionnaire in patients undergoing surgical or conservative inpatient treatment.

OBJECTIVE: The patient-based evaluation of outcome is gaining increased importance. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the reliability, validity and responsiveness of the German version of the Short Musculoskeletal Function Assessment Questionnaire (SMFA-D) in patients undergoing surgical or conservative treatment. METHODS: Three hundred and thirty-two patients suffering from osteoarthritis of the hip or knee, rheumatoid arthritis or rotator cuff tear undergoing surgical or medical inpatient treatment were followed up for 12 month. Patients underwent both SMFA-D and other assessments and clinical as well as radiological examinations. Reliability, validity and responsiveness of the SMFA-D were evaluated. RESULTS: Values of the SMFA-D subscales, Function index (M 22-49, SD 12-20, range 0-96) and Bother index (M 29-52, SD 15-23, range 0-100), showed a normal distribution. Internal consistency (0.88-0.97) and retest reliability (0.71-0.96) coefficients were satisfactory to excellent. In most cases, the SMFA-D correlated significantly with function tests, physicians' function ratings, patients' pain ratings and other quality-of-life questionnaires in all patient subgroups. The results support both the construct and criterion validity of the measure. Different patient groups and subgroups could be discriminated with the SMFA-D scales. The standardized response means of SMFA-D subscales were in surgical patients better than in conservatively treated patients and comparable to those of the SF-36 Physical Component Summary scale. CONCLUSIONS: The German version of SMFA is a reliable, valid and responsive questionnaire in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip or knee, rheumatoid arthritis or rotator cuff tear undergoing surgical or medical inpatient treatment. Thus, the use of the SMFA-D in these patients can be recommended.

No increased stem subsidence after arthroplasty in young patients with femoral head osteonecrosis: 41 patients followed for 1-9 years.

BACKGROUND: Poor bone stock in patients with osteonecrosis of the femoral head may be a reason for poor outcome after hip replacement. One way of studying bone quality is to measure implant migration. We thus investigated the clinical and radiographic results of cementless THR in younger patients with femoral head osteonecrosis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We studied hips in 41 patients (mean age 48 (25-63) years) with a cementless hip arthroplasty after late stage osteonecrosis. Clinical evaluation was by the Harris hip score, the WOMAC score and the SF-36 score. Stem subsidence was measured with the Ein Bild Roentgen Analyse femoral component analysis (EBRA-FCA) at 3, 12, 24, 60, and 72 months after operation. The average duration of follow-up was 7(1-9) years, with less than 2 years for 2 patients. RESULTS: There was no revision of any hip. No radiographic or clinical stem loosening was seen. After 60 months, the cementless stems showed a median subsidence of -0.7 mm (95% CI: -0.9 to -0.2). No femoral osteolysis occurred. Femoral radiolucent lines, all < 1 mm, were seen in 10 hips. At the latest follow-up the Harris hip score was 83 (23-100) points. INTERPRETATION: Our findings for porous-coated stems in patients with femoral osteonecrosis indicate no greater risk of stem subsidence and rate of osteolysis after an average of 7 years follow-up. Thus, we continue to use uncemented stems in younger patients with femoral osteonecrosis. However, continued follow-up will be necessary to evaluate the long-term outcome.