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Etiology of Osteoarthritis of the Hip.

Harris·Clin Orthop Relat Res·1986·737 citations·Hip & Knee
DOI·PubMed
SummaryAbstract on PubMed →

Harris systematically challenges the concept of idiopathic hip osteoarthritis using 30 years of hip radiographs. He asks whether subtle developmental abnormalities — rather than primary cartilage failure — explain most cases labeled primary OA. The focused analysis centers on 75 patients previously classified as idiopathic.

Study Snapshot

Design
Retrospective observational review
Setting: Single institution (Massachusetts General Hospital)
Objective
Whether so-called idiopathic hip OA is actually secondary to unrecognized developmental abnormalities.
Outcome(s)
Prevalence of developmental abnormalities on hip radiographs in idiopathic OA
Subjects
75 patients (idiopathic OA cohort); radiographs from 30-year practice
Inclusion
  • Labeled idiopathic/primary hip OA
  • Sufficient radiographic data available
  • Assessment possible at skeletal maturity
Exclusion
  • Recognized gross preexisting deformity
  • Insufficient early radiographic data
Follow-up
Up to 30 years of radiographic follow-up

Key Findings

  • More than 90% of so-called idiopathic hip OA cases had demonstrable developmental abnormalities when early radiographs were available. Harris argues this makes truly primary hip OA extraordinarily rare or nonexistent — the label "idiopathic" almost always reflects a missed diagnosis, not a real disease category.
  • In 75 patients labeled idiopathic, pistol grip deformity and acetabular dysplasia together accounted for 79% of cases:
    –Pistol grip deformity: 40% of cases
    –Acetabular dysplasia: 39% of cases
    –The remaining 21% included metabolic causes (hemochromatosis, CPPD) and intraarticular labral pathology.
  • Pistol grip deformity is strongly male-predominant and late-presenting:
    –Men affected: 66% vs. 10% of women
    –First surgery after age 70: approximately one-third of patients
    –First surgery before age 60: fewer than one-fourth
    –When a man presents with hip OA in his late 60s or 70s, look hard at the femoral head-neck junction on the frog lateral.
  • Acetabular dysplasia is female-predominant and earlier-presenting:
    –Women affected: 68% vs. 15% of men
    –First surgery before age 60: nearly 50% of patients
    –First surgery after age 70: fewer than 5%
    –A woman under 60 with hip OA should have CE angle and acetabular depth measured before accepting an idiopathic label.
  • Progressive OA can make the acetabulum look more normal on late films than on early ones. Remodeling erases the dysplastic contour. This is the primary reason developmental causes are missed. If only end-stage imaging is available, scrutinize the subchondral bone outline rather than the articular surface contour.
  • The pistol grip deformity is a final common pathway of multiple childhood hip diseases:
    –Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (recognized or unrecognized)
    –Legg-Perthes disease (recognized or unrecognized)
    –Multiple epiphyseal dysplasia
    –Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia
    –It can also develop in the contralateral, clinically uninvolved hip. Bilateral disease may be radiographically silent on one side until OA supervenes.
Board PearlOver 90% of 'idiopathic' hip OA has an identifiable developmental cause — pistol grip deformity or acetabular dysplasia — making truly primary hip OA extraordinarily rare.

Clinical Relevance

When a patient presents with hip OA and no prior diagnosis, resist the label idiopathic. Harris showed that over 90% of such cases have an identifiable developmental cause — and the diagnosis is missed primarily because clinicians look only at late-stage films.

Always seek early radiographs. OA remodeling can normalize the acetabular contour, erasing the signature of dysplasia. When early imaging is unavailable, scrutinize the subchondral bone outline on the frog lateral, ignoring osteophytes.

Use the sex and age phenotype to direct your search: a man presenting with hip OA in his late 60s or 70s warrants careful evaluation of the femoral head-neck junction for pistol grip deformity. A woman presenting before age 60 warrants CE angle measurement and assessment of acetabular depth for dysplasia.

This paper is the conceptual origin of cam-type femoroacetabular impingement as a clinical entity. Harris's pistol grip deformity. The "final common pathway" of childhood hip disease. Is exactly what Ganz and colleagues formalized as cam FAI two decades later.

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|

Etiology of Osteoarthritis of the Hip.

Harris·Clin Orthop Relat Res·1986·737 citations·Hip & Knee
DOI·PubMed
SummaryAbstract on PubMed →

Harris systematically challenges the concept of idiopathic hip osteoarthritis using 30 years of hip radiographs. He asks whether subtle developmental abnormalities — rather than primary cartilage failure — explain most cases labeled primary OA. The focused analysis centers on 75 patients previously classified as idiopathic.

Study Snapshot

Design
Retrospective observational review
Setting: Single institution (Massachusetts General Hospital)
Objective
Whether so-called idiopathic hip OA is actually secondary to unrecognized developmental abnormalities.
Outcome(s)
Prevalence of developmental abnormalities on hip radiographs in idiopathic OA
Subjects
75 patients (idiopathic OA cohort); radiographs from 30-year practice
Inclusion
  • Labeled idiopathic/primary hip OA
  • Sufficient radiographic data available
  • Assessment possible at skeletal maturity
Exclusion
  • Recognized gross preexisting deformity
  • Insufficient early radiographic data
Follow-up
Up to 30 years of radiographic follow-up

Key Findings

  • More than 90% of so-called idiopathic hip OA cases had demonstrable developmental abnormalities when early radiographs were available. Harris argues this makes truly primary hip OA extraordinarily rare or nonexistent — the label "idiopathic" almost always reflects a missed diagnosis, not a real disease category.
  • In 75 patients labeled idiopathic, pistol grip deformity and acetabular dysplasia together accounted for 79% of cases:
    –Pistol grip deformity: 40% of cases
    –Acetabular dysplasia: 39% of cases
    –The remaining 21% included metabolic causes (hemochromatosis, CPPD) and intraarticular labral pathology.
  • Pistol grip deformity is strongly male-predominant and late-presenting:
    –Men affected: 66% vs. 10% of women
    –First surgery after age 70: approximately one-third of patients
    –First surgery before age 60: fewer than one-fourth
    –When a man presents with hip OA in his late 60s or 70s, look hard at the femoral head-neck junction on the frog lateral.
  • Acetabular dysplasia is female-predominant and earlier-presenting:
    –Women affected: 68% vs. 15% of men
    –First surgery before age 60: nearly 50% of patients
    –First surgery after age 70: fewer than 5%
    –A woman under 60 with hip OA should have CE angle and acetabular depth measured before accepting an idiopathic label.
  • Progressive OA can make the acetabulum look more normal on late films than on early ones. Remodeling erases the dysplastic contour. This is the primary reason developmental causes are missed. If only end-stage imaging is available, scrutinize the subchondral bone outline rather than the articular surface contour.
  • The pistol grip deformity is a final common pathway of multiple childhood hip diseases:
    –Slipped capital femoral epiphysis (recognized or unrecognized)
    –Legg-Perthes disease (recognized or unrecognized)
    –Multiple epiphyseal dysplasia
    –Spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia
    –It can also develop in the contralateral, clinically uninvolved hip. Bilateral disease may be radiographically silent on one side until OA supervenes.
Board PearlOver 90% of 'idiopathic' hip OA has an identifiable developmental cause — pistol grip deformity or acetabular dysplasia — making truly primary hip OA extraordinarily rare.

Clinical Relevance

When a patient presents with hip OA and no prior diagnosis, resist the label idiopathic. Harris showed that over 90% of such cases have an identifiable developmental cause — and the diagnosis is missed primarily because clinicians look only at late-stage films.

Always seek early radiographs. OA remodeling can normalize the acetabular contour, erasing the signature of dysplasia. When early imaging is unavailable, scrutinize the subchondral bone outline on the frog lateral, ignoring osteophytes.

Use the sex and age phenotype to direct your search: a man presenting with hip OA in his late 60s or 70s warrants careful evaluation of the femoral head-neck junction for pistol grip deformity. A woman presenting before age 60 warrants CE angle measurement and assessment of acetabular depth for dysplasia.

This paper is the conceptual origin of cam-type femoroacetabular impingement as a clinical entity. Harris's pistol grip deformity. The "final common pathway" of childhood hip disease. Is exactly what Ganz and colleagues formalized as cam FAI two decades later.

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