Correlation between patient age at total hip replacement surgery and life expectancy

Abstract

Total hip arthroplasty (THA) is one of the most cost-effective hip surgeries among orthopedic procedures. We conducted an extensive literature review with 5,394 papers regarding survival rates after THA. We searched PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library from January 1st, 1970 to July 31th, 2014 looking for all citations about total hip arthroplasty with a long term follow-up (longer than 10 years). The criteria were rigorous: no loss of follow-up, and follow-up more than 10 years. The authors should have known the complete history of patients (whether the patient is alive or dead). Considering the criteria, we found only 15 papers. To evaluate the relationship between follow-up and survival, a linear regression analysis was applied. Considering the papers analysed, and applying the search criteria, we obtained a mean age for the patients above 57.5 years. The chance of survival at 15 years was 57.6%, at 20 years it was 34.6% and at 25 years it is only 11.6%. The relationship between follow-up and survival was significantly linear (p <0.001). Only 11.6% of patients undergoing THA will be still alive 25 years after the surgical procedure.