Preoperative Symptom Severity Predicts 5-Year Hip Arthroscopy Outcomes

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Sports Medicine
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAI) is a common cause of hip pain and dysfunction.
• Hip arthroscopy is a frequently performed surgical procedure to address FAI.
• Predicting surgical outcomes is crucial for patient management and expectations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the prognostic effect of preoperative symptom severity on hip arthroscopy outcomes in FAI patients.
• To determine if baseline functional status influences long-term results after hip arthroscopy for FAI.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 105 patients undergoing hip arthroscopy for FAI with at least 5-year follow-up.
• Classification into high and low preoperative function (PF) groups based on modified Harris Hip Score (mHHS) median.
• Analysis using Kaplan-Meier, Cox proportional modeling, ANOVA, and linear regression to assess survival and patient-reported outcomes (PROs).

Main Results:

• High PF group showed significantly better 5-year survival-to-revision (85% vs. 61%) and survival-to-arthroplasty (95% vs. 82%) rates.
• Higher baseline and 1-year mHHS and Nonarthritic Hip Score (NAHS) in the high PF group.
• High PF group achieved better rates of Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) and Patient Acceptable Symptomatic State (PASS) at 5 years.

Conclusions:

• Preoperative symptom severity, indicated by PF, is a reliable prognostic factor for hip arthroscopy in FAI.
• Patients with high PF demonstrate improved long-term procedure longevity and better functional outcomes.
• These findings highlight the importance of preoperative functional status in predicting success after hip arthroscopy for FAI.