ANALYSIS ON QUALITY OF LIFE OF PATIENTS WITH OSTEOARTHROSIS UNDERGOING TOTAL HIP ARTHROPLASTY

Objective: The aim of the study was to evaluate the health-related quality of life among patients affected by hip osteoarthrosis who were treated by means of total hip arthroplasty. Methods: A cohort of 38 patients operated by a single surgeon in a regional referential teaching hospital during the year 2010 was prospectively studied and followed up for at least six months until they had achieved satisfactory rehabilitation. Each patient gave responses to the SF-36 form immediately before the operation and six months later and the Harris Hip Score was obtained at the same time. The pre and postoperative results were analyzed and compared with the literature. Results: The pre and postoperative SF-36 results were as follows: physical function: 13.4–53.7; role physical: 9.21–48.0; body pain: 23.1–62.6; general health: 54.2–71.3; vitality: 40.3–69.9; social function: 40.8–74.3; role emotional: 23.7–64.9; and mental health: 52.6–80.4. The Harris Hip Score went from 36.1 to 92.1, on average. All the results were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The combination of two scales was shown to be valuable in identifying bias and gave greater reliability for understanding the different variables. The study showed that there was a significant improvement in health-related quality of life among patients affected by osteoarthrosis of different etiologies who underwent total hip arthroplasty. Health-related quality of life evaluations cannot replace clinical evaluations provided by specific instruments and physicians’ experience but can add important data through giving value to patients’ sets of expectations regarding medical treatment. Moreover, such evaluations can be considered to be an efficient tool for analyzing the outcomes from total hip arthroplasty.