Examining the relationship between radiographic measures and patient-reported outcome measures at baseline in the dysplastic hip preservation population

Symptomatic hip dysplasia is typically diagnosed through a multifactorial approach utilizing radiographs, a thorough clinical examination, and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs). Radiographic measures characterize hip architecture, while PROMs capture the impact of pathology on pain, function, and quality of life. It is currently unknown if baseline radiographic measures and PROMs correlate in a dysplastic hip population. This study investigated 176 patients (151 females and 25 males) with symptomatic hip dysplasia as diagnosed by an orthopaedic surgeon. A retrospective study was performed using data from a single-surgeon database. Data collected between June 2021 and March 2023 were selected for analysis. Radiographic measures chosen for analysis were lateral centre edge angle (LCEA) and acetabular index (AI), and PROMs included the International Hip Outcome Tool-12 (iHOT-12) and a visual analogue scale (VAS) for pain (VAS-pain). Four separate Pearson correlations were utilized to determine the relationships between radiographic measures and PROMs. There was no relationship between LCEA and iHOT-12 (r = −0.07; P-value = .34) or LCEA and VAS-pain (r = 0.04; P-value = .59). There was also no relationship between AI and iHOT-12 (r = −0.01; P-value = .87) or AI and VAS-pain (r = −0.003; P-value = .97). A correlation does not exist between radiographic imaging and PROMs in a dysplastic hip population at baseline assessment. Both radiographic imaging and PROMs are important components in the assessment of hip dysplasia, but radiographic markers of the severity of dysplasia are not related to a patient’s functional presentation. Imaging and PROMs assess different constructs and thus both are necessary for a complete clinical picture of the dysplastic hip population.