The Impact of Hip Arthroscopy on the Progression of Hip Osteoarthritis in Patients With Femoroacetabular Impingement Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Background: Hip arthroscopy (HA) for the surgical management of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAIS) provides reliable improvements in pain and function; however, debate remains regarding the impact of HA on the progression of osteoarthritis (OA).

Purpose: To determine whether HA for FAIS reduces the progression of OA and the risk of conversion to total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Study design: Systematic review; level of evidence, 4.

Methods: A systematic electronic search of articles in Medline, Embase, and ClinicalTrials.gov databases was performed under the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, with 5046 articles remaining after duplicates were removed. All papers addressing HA for FAIS that reported radiographic progression of hip OA with a follow-up of ≥2 years were eligible for inclusion. Studies assessing labral reconstruction, revision HA, case reports, studies with <10 patients, and patients with hip dysplasia or rheumatoid arthritis were excluded. A total of 322 studies progressed to full text, and 16 studies were ultimately included in this review. Studies were divided based on short-term (ST) (2 to <5 years), mid-term (MT) (5 to <10 years), and long-term (LT) (>10 years) follow-ups. A meta-analysis of homogenous studies and outcomes was performed, otherwise, descriptive statistics were presented.

Results: Sixteen studies (2278 hips) with FAIS were included, in which 1196 hips underwent HA and 1082 hips were treated nonoperatively. There were 8 ST studies, 4 MT studies, and 4 LT studies. A meta-analysis of 2 comparative studies found 32% (P = .002) less risk of progression of radiographic OA (any increase in grading) with HA compared with nonoperative management. In addition, there was a nonsignificant 23% (P = .35) decreased risk of conversion to THA/hip resurfacing with HA. For all studies, there was a progression of hip OA ranging from 0% to 37.1% for ST studies, 11.5% to 23% for MT studies, and 4.3% to 28% for LT studies.

Conclusion: Our systematic review demonstrated that studies of patients undergoing HA for FAIS demonstrated increased radiographic progression of hip OA over time. Although significantly limited by only 2 retrospective cohort studies, subgroup analysis comparing operative versus nonoperative management demonstrated a 32% reduction in the radiographic progression of OA (any increase in grading) at the LT follow-up. However, there were no significant differences in the risk of THA/hip resurfacing. Future long-term, high-level controlled studies are needed to help further understand this important clinical question.