ArticleActa orthopaedica2025
Effectiveness of total hip arthroplasty versus non-surgery on patient-reported hip function at 3 months: a target trial emulation study of patients with osteoarthritis.
Article in Acta orthopaedica, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Three-Dimensional Estimation of the Femoral Head Center From Trochanteric Landmarks in Japanese Female Patients With Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip.Orthopaedic surgery · 2026Article
- Editorial: Why the randomized controlled trial is still at the apex and the gold standard for evaluating new medical and surgical interventions.Acta orthopaedica · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
background and purposeThis study introduces an innovative research design in the field of orthopedics, using a target trial emulation approach. We aimed to assess the causal effects of total hip arthroplasty (THA) compared with nonoperative treatment in reducing patient-reported hip disability at 3 months in patients with osteoarthritis, using real-world data.
methodsWe emulated a target trial using real-world data of 2 Dutch hospitals between April 2020 and January 2022. Patients diagnosed with hip osteoarthritis and eligible for primary THA were included in the study. During the COVID-19 pandemic, THA was often cancelled due to external factors (i.e., limited operating room capacity, or surgeon unavailable due to quarantine rules), resulting in an arbitrary allocation of patients to THA (n = 132) or non-THA (n = 60). We compared changes in hip disability, measured using the Hip disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score Physical function Short form (HOOS-PS), between the THA group at 3 months postoperatively and the non-THA group at ≥3 months post waiting-list. Linear regression analysis, adjusting for potential confounders, was used to compare between-group differences.
resultsTHA showed preferable outcomes compared with non-THA, indicated by a difference of -33 points (95% confidence interval [CI] -37 to -28) on the HOOS-PS. Patients in the THA group demonstrated a clinically significant improvement in hip function, with a mean change of -27 points (CI -31 to -24), while the control group showed no improvement with a mean change of 7 points (CI 3-11) on the HOOS-PS.
conclusionTHA significantly improves hip function in osteoarthritis patients, surpassing the outcomes observed in the non-surgery group.
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