Estimation of Femoral Neck Anteversion in Adults: A Comparison Between Clinical Method, Radiography, and Computed Tomography at a Tertiary-care Center in Eastern India

Abstract

Introduction Femoral anteversion is the anterior inclination of the femoral neck and head in relation to the shaft of the femur. Femoral anteversion provides torsional stability of the hip - an important clinical factor for conditions such as trauma, arthroplasty, developmental dysplasia of the hip, and Legg-Calve Perthes disease. Precise measurement is important to avoid instability in pathological conditions of the hip. Computed tomography (CT) measures the angle more accurately as compared to plain radiography and is considered the gold standard procedure for measurement. Patients are exposed to significantly more ionizing radiation in CT, especially the pediatric population, which is more susceptible. Material and methods A prospective study of 25 individuals was undertaken wherein the femoral anteversion angle was comparatively measured by clinical, radiographic, and CT methods. Results The radiological evaluation depicted mean values that were far from those of the CT evaluation as compared to the clinical evaluation. Conclusion The clinical method (trochanter prominence angle test) can be used to measure femoral anteversion to avoid exposure to ionizing radiation and cases where CT is unavailable.