Pain after total hip arthroplasty: a psychiatric point of view

• Published in: International orthopaedics Vol. 33; no. 1; pp. 65 - 69
• Main Authors: Pacault-Legendre, V., Anract, P., Mathieu, M., Courpied, J. P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.02.2009
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip - adverse effects; Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip - psychology; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health Surveys; Hip Joint - surgery; Humans; Incidence; Interview, Psychological; Male; Mass Screening; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental Disorders; Middle Aged; Original Paper; Orthopedics; Pain, Postoperative - epidemiology; Pain, Postoperative - psychology; Prospective Studies; Risk Factors; Aseptic Loosening; Psychiatric Examination; Psychiatric Condition; Revision Arthroplasty; Bursitis
• DOI: 10.1007/s00264-007-0470-2
• ISSN: 0341-2695

After total hip arthroplasty (THA), many studies report that a small percentage of patients mention painful symptoms, whose origin remains more or less obscure. We investigated 1,000 patients who had undergone a THA at least one year before their inclusion in the survey protocol. Among these 1,000 patients, 64 were complaining of pain in the region of the operated hip. These were later examined and investigated, both clinically (physical and psychiatric examination) and paraclinically (radiography, biology). Those requiring it received adequate treatment and the others were only regularly followed up. We identified the cause of all but one patient’s pain. In all cases except one, the symptoms of pain without physical cause had a psychiatric origin. The results of our study show that, if the clinical picture is not perfectly clear, a psychiatric screening before surgery could contribute to decreasing the incidence of pain syndrome after THA.