Review Question - QID 3103

Dislocation continues to be a problem for patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty. The incidence of dislocation is highest in the first year after arthroplasty and then continues at a relatively constant rate for the life of the arthroplasty.

Berry et al in a Level III retrospective study showed that patients at highest risk are female patients (relative risk 2.1), those with a diagnosis of osteonecrosis of the femoral head (relative risk 1.9), an acute fracture or nonunion proximal femur treated with THA (relative risk 1.8), history of inflammatory arthritis (relative risk 1.5), and age greater than 70 (relative risk 1.3). The relative risk of dislocation for patients with posttraumatic arthritis of the hip was not significantly different from that for patients with osteoarthritis (relative risk, 1.3; 95% confidence interval, 0.6 to 2.8) (p = 0.59).