Replacing hip precautions after hemiarthroplasty with a pose avoidance protocol

After hip arthroplasty surgery, hip precautions are often implemented to minimise the risk of dislocation, although existing evidence does not support their effectiveness. At our institution, we replaced post-operative precautions with a novel pose avoidance protocol in patients undergoing hip hemiarthroplasty for neck of femur fracture. The objectives of our study were to validate this new protocol by assessing the incidence of dislocation before and after its introduction and evaluating its impact on the length of hospital stay.

Between 20^th September 2021 and 19^th March 2023, 200 patients underwent 203 hip hemiarthroplasties. Hip precautions were replaced with the new pose avoidance protocol on 20^th June 2022. Data were retrospectively collected and included patient demographics, Abbreviated Mental Test Score, American Society of Anaesthesiologists grade, surgical approach, prosthesis, dislocation, and mortality.

The incidence of dislocation within 90 days after hip hemiarthroplasty decreased from seven out of 98 cases (7.1%) before 20^th June 2022 to one out of 105 cases (1.0%), p-value 0.030. However, there was no significant difference in the length of stay, with a median (interquartile range) of 19 (10 - 29) days before 20^th June 2022, and 16 (11 - 22) days thereafter, p-value 0.242. A multivariate logistic regression confirmed the pose avoidance protocol and the anterolateral approach to be independent negative predictors of dislocation, p-value 0.030 (Odds Ratio [OR] 0.077) and p-value 0.005 (OR 0.022), respectively.

Hip precautions are unnecessary and potentially detrimental to patient outcomes following hemiarthroplasty. Replacing these precautions with our new pose avoidance protocol may have led to a significant reduction in dislocation rates and saved on the cost of adaptive equipment. We advocate for the anterolateral over the posterior approach in hip hemiarthroplasty to further mitigate the risk of dislocation.

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