Porous-coated femoral components with or without hydroxyapatite in primary uncemented total hip arthroplasty: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

The purpose of this systematic review was to determine the clinical and radiologic benefit of hydroxyapatite coating in uncemented primary total hip arthroplasty. A database of Medline articles published up to September 2007 was compiled and screened. Eight studies involving 857 patients were included in the review. Pooled analysis for Harris hip score as a clinical outcome measure demonstrated no advantage of the hydroxyapatite coating (WMD: 1.49, P = 0.44). Radiologically, both groups showed equal presence of endosteal bone ingrowth (RR: 1.04, P = 0.66) and radioactive lines (RR: 1.02, P = 0.74) in the surface area of the prosthesis. This meta-analysis demonstrates neither clinical nor radiologic benefits on the application of a hydroxyapatite coating on a femoral component in uncemented primary total hip arthroplasty.