Protocol for systematic review: Patients’ and surgeons’ preferences for primary total hip replacement outcomes

Total hip replacement (THR) has been called the “surgery of the century” (Learmonth et al. 2008) because of its effectiveness in relieving pain, improving function and quality of life in patients who are experiencing severe hip problems such as advanced arthritis or other chronic degenerative diseases. An average 174 THR procedures are performed per 100,000 people in the OECD countries. THR also has a large economic impact on health and social care budgets, which is expected to grow in the future due to aging of the population worldwide.

When performing THR, surgeons make choices with regard to implant types. However, different implant types may result in differences in the nature and frequency of complications (infections, revision rates) and outcomes such as pain or mobility. To make better clinical decisions, it is essential to know more about what outcomes are important to patients and how they value and trade-offs between benefits and complications. Interventions should be targeted to improve outcomes in recovery domains that people find important, while considering what kind of risks patients are willing to take in terms of short and long-term complications (Khatri et al., 2023).