Discrepancies in measuring acetabular coverage: revisiting the anterior and lateral center edge angles

The lateral center edge angle (LCEA) and the anterior center edge angle (ACEA) are commonly used to assess acetabular coverage of the femoral head. There are two distinct methods found in the literature to obtain these angles, specifically, measuring to the most lateral bone edge versus the sclerotic lateral sourcil edge. A difference between these two methods may contribute to inconsistent estimates of acetabular coverage, and potentially lead to clinical misdiagnosis and treatment mismanagement. The objectives of this study were to quantify the difference between bone edge and sourcil edge measurements and to determine how the difference influences the classification of acetabular coverage in adult patients with suspected hip pathomorphology. Two observers completed the measurements independently using preoperative anteroposterior and false profile radiographs. Bland-Altman plots and paired t-tests were used to compare measurement methods. Bone and sourcil measurements of the LCEA and ACEA were significantly different (both P < 0.001). On average, the bone LCEA was 4° (95% limits of agreement = -2° to 10°) greater than the sourcil LCEA. The bone ACEA was, on average, 10° (95% limit of agreement = -2° to 22°) greater than the sourcil ACEA. The differences often led to different clinical classifications for the same hip. With a statistically and clinically significant difference in the quantification of acetabular coverage using bone edge versus sourcil edge methods for measuring the LCEA and ACEA in adult patients, it should be mandatory to clearly identify which method was used in each study.