The Charnley total hip arthroplasty in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis patients

A follow up of 27 consecutive total hip arthroplasties in 16 patients with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis was performed. The mean age at surgery was 18 years, and the average follow-up period was 64 months. No serious early complications were recorded, but three deep infections developed from 6 to 18 months after the arthroplasty, all requiring revision. The clinical results were good at follow up, as 20 hips were free of pain and 7 had only slight pain. Most of the patients had improved their walking ability and the range of motion in the hip as well. A poor correlation was, however, shown between the clinical and the roentgenographical results, as there was one femoral implant that was definitely loose and four more hips that had components which were probably loose. The frequency of infections might have been reduced by using antibiotic prophylaxis during surgery in all the cases; the frequency of aseptic loosening might also have been reduced by improved cementing techniques. Because of high loosening rate without clinical symptoms, it is recommended to follow the patients roentgenographically to make revision surgery possible while the bone stock still is sufficient.