Radiographic associations for "primary" hip osteoarthrosis: a retrospective cohort study of 47 patients

This radiographic retrospective cohort study aims to identify relations between the prearthrotic anatomy of the hip joint and the type of subsequent osteoarthrosis (OA). Radiographs of 64 hips in 47 patients were evaluated. Several anatomical indices were measured on radiographs obtained before the onset of OA. The location, type and grade of OA were recorded on subsequent radiographs. Due to the small number of hips available, only three potential risk factors could be considered for both OA location and OA type (weight-bearing surface angle, spherical sector and neck shaft angle for both outcomes). The only variable that was found to be a significant predictor of OA location was the degree of inclination of the acetabular sourcil. Patients with craniomedial sourcils were more likely to have medial OA. No predictors of OA type could be identified. Our results suggest that the anatomy of the hip joint is a factor determining the location of developing osteoarthrosis.