Reliability and validity of measuring version of the acetabular component

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Radiology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Accurate measurement of acetabular component version is crucial for successful total hip replacement (THR) outcomes.
• Various radiological techniques exist, but their reliability and validity require rigorous evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the reliability and validity of six commonly used radiological methods for measuring acetabular component version post-THR.
• To compare these methods against computed tomography (CT) scans as a reference standard.

Main Methods:

• Six radiological methods (Lewinnek, Widmer, Hassan et al, Ackland et al, Liaw et al, Woo and Morrey) were applied to plain radiographs of 36 THR patients.
• Measurements were performed by three independent examiners.
• Radiographic measurements were compared with CT scan data for each method.

Main Results:

• All tested methods exhibited excellent intra- and interobserver reliability for both radiographs and CT scans.
• Four methods (Lewinnek, Hassan et al, Liaw et al, Woo and Morrey) showed strong correlation with CT measurements.
• The Widmer and Ackland, Bourne and Uhthoff methods yielded results significantly different from CT measurements (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• The Lewinnek, Hassan et al, Liaw et al, and Woo and Morrey methods are recommended for reliable and valid measurement of acetabular component version.
• These validated methods can be used in clinical practice for assessing THR component positioning.