Hiromi Otsuka

Japanese Orthopaedic Association Hip Disease Evaluation Questionnaire (JHEQ): a patient-based evaluation tool for hip-joint disease. The Subcommittee on Hip Disease Evaluation of the Clinical Outcome Committee of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association

BackgroundThe Japanese Orthopaedic Association Hip Score is widely used in Japan, but this tool is designed to reflect the viewpoint of health-care providers rather than that of patients. In gauging the effect of medical therapies in addition to clinical results, it is necessary to assess quality of life (QOL) from the viewpoint of patients. However, there is no tool evaluating QOL for Japanese patients with hip-joint disease.MethodsWith the aim of more accurately classifying QOL for Japanese patients with hip-joint disease, we prepared a questionnaire with 58 items for the survey derived from 464 opinions obtained from approximately 100 Japanese patients with hip-joint disease and previously devised evaluation criteria. In the survey, we collected information on 501 cases, and 402 were subjected to factor analysis. From this, we formulated three categories—movement, mental, and pain—each comprising 7 items, for a total of 21 items to be used as evaluation criteria for hip-joint function.ResultsThe Cronbach’s α coefficients for the three categories were 0.93, 0.93, and 0.95, respectively, indicating the high reliability of the evaluation criteria. The 21 items included some related to the Asian lifestyle, such as use of a Japanese-style toilet and rising from the floor, which are not included in other evaluation tools.ConclusionsThis self-administered questionnaire may become a useful tool in the evaluation of not only Japanese patients, but also of members of other ethnic groups who engage in deep flexion of the hip joint during daily activities.

Low-intensity pulsed ultrasound therapy stimulates callus formation between host femur and cortical onlay strut allograft.

Cortical onlay strut allografting is a promising surgical option to reconstruct and reinforce the deficient femur in a hip arthroplasty. However, the union of the allograft to the host bone takes a long time. To accelerate the process of cortical onlay strut allograft healing, we studied the effects of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) on callus formation. From 2 wk after the operation, LIPUS was given for 20 min/d at each end of the strut allograft. The LIPUS treatment group was assigned 14 allograft transplantations, while 21 control patients were treated without LIPUS. The LIPUS treatment group formed calluses and had complete bridging between the host femur and the allograft faster after operation (16.9 and 29.4 wk after operation, respectively) compared with the control group (40.7 and 82.0 wk after operation, respectively). Our findings showed that LIPUS stimulated bone bonding between the host femur and the cortical onlay strut allografts.