Prevention of heterotopic ossification in cases of hypertrophic osteoarthritis submitted to total hip arthroplasty. Etidronate or Indomethacin?

G I Vasileiadis, V I Sakellariou, A Kelekis, A Galanos, P N Soucacos, P J Papagelopoulos, G C Babis

1st Orthopaedic Department, University of Athens, ATTIKON University General Hospital, Athens, Greece.

Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions 2010 Jun

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We present a study comparing etidronate or indomethacin for the prevention of heterotopic ossification after total hip arthroplasty in patients with hypertrophic osteoarthritis. 52 patients were divided in two groups. Group A (26 patients) received etidronate (20 mg/kg/day for 12 weeks) and Group B (26 patients) indomethacin 75 mg/day for 2 weeks. Mean follow up was 36 months (range, 18 to 50 months). The incidence of side effects was 15.4% in group A and 30.8% in group B (p=0.324). At 6 months there was no statistically significant difference in terms of clinical (p=0.532) and radiographic evaluation between the two groups (p=0.303). However, the cost of etidronate which may be as much as six times more expensive than that of indomethacin could not justify its routine prophylactic use.

Citation

G I Vasileiadis, V I Sakellariou, A Kelekis, A Galanos, P N Soucacos, P J Papagelopoulos, G C Babis. Prevention of heterotopic ossification in cases of hypertrophic osteoarthritis submitted to total hip arthroplasty. Etidronate or Indomethacin? Journal of musculoskeletal & neuronal interactions. 2010 Jun;10(2):159-65