Adult Hip Dysplasia: An assessment tool for early diagnosis v1

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Developing and evaluating an assessment tool for Physiotherapists to improve and accelerate the diagnosis of Adult Hip Dysplasia and fast-track correct patient treatment.

  • IRAS ID

    183604

  • Contact name

    Elizabeth Evans

  • Contact email

    evansem1@cardiff.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    Cardiff University

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    3 years, 0 months, 1 days

  • Research summary

    TITLE: Adult Hip Dysplasia: An assessment tool for early diagnosis v1.
    Adult hip dysplasia (AHD) involves a deformity of the hip joint which causes premature, secondary osteoarthritis (OA). AHD is under-recognised; average diagnostic delays of more than 5 years have been identified. Most patients are young and highly active; symptoms impact enormously on their lives. Joint conservation surgery through reconstruction is the preferred treatment but this needs to be done before arthritic damage occurs. Delayed diagnosis increases the likelihood of OA which typically means that patients as young as just 18 years of age require total hip replacement (THR). Misdiagnosis also has cost implications because patients receive repeated GP and physiotherapy appointments. It is therefore imperative that we raise awareness of the condition and develop diagnostic tools to detect AHD much earlier in order to preserve the hip joint.
    Expert diagnostic assessment procedures are not currently documented nor available to non-specialists. The PhD study will address this by capturing specialists’ knowledge, together with detailed patient information to produce a comprehensive clinical picture from which an assessment tool will be configured, enabling quicker recognition of AHD.
    A five-phased multi-method approach will be used:
    Phase 1: A systematic review of the literature taking a narrative approach.
    Phase 2: Collection of AHD Specialists’ assessment and clinical reasoning plus collection of patient reported signs, symptoms and impact of ADH.
    Phase 3: Delphi Study to gain consensus and establish agreement of the condition’s features between AHD Specialists and between people with AHD.
    Phase 4: Analysis and synthesis of data to establish the components of the assessment tool. Clinical testing of tool prototype for efficiency and sensitivity.
    Phase 5: Dissemination of the findings in clinical, patient and research arenas, to improve understanding of AHD and promote use of the assessment tool.

  • REC name

    South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    16/SW/0162

  • Date of REC Opinion

    3 Jun 2016

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion