Reliability of the Sundsvall Method for Femoral Offset Evaluation

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Radiology
• Biomechanical Engineering

Background:

• Acetabular and femoral offset are critical parameters in total hip arthroplasty (THA).
• Accurate measurement of hip offset is essential for successful THA outcomes.
• The Sundsvall method offers a combined approach to measuring femoral and cup offset.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the agreement and inter-observer reliability of the Sundsvall method for measuring hip offset.
• To assess the clinical applicability of the Sundsvall method in THA.
• To validate a novel hip offset measurement technique.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of 499 THA patients.
• Measurement of preoperative and postoperative hip offset using the Sundsvall method on anteroposterior pelvic radiographs.
• Assessment of inter-observer reliability using Intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC) and Pearson's correlation coefficients.

Main Results:

• Excellent inter-observer agreement for preoperative hip offset measurement (ICC=0.91, R=0.92).
• Excellent inter-observer agreement for postoperative hip offset measurement (ICC=0.93, R=0.93).
• High statistical significance (P<0.01) for both preoperative and postoperative measurements.

Conclusions:

• The Sundsvall method demonstrates high inter-observer agreement and reliability for hip offset measurement.
• The Sundsvall method is a practical and dependable tool for clinical and research applications in THA.
• This validated method can enhance precision in THA planning and evaluation.