Consistency of Reported Outcomes After Arthroscopic Management of Femoroacetabular Impingement

PURPOSE: The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the consistency of the reporting of clinical and radiographic outcomes after arthroscopic management of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). METHODS: Two databases (Medline and EMBASE) were screened for clinical studies involving the arthroscopic management of FAI. A full-text review of eligible studies was conducted, and the references were searched. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to the searched studies, and a quality assessment was completed for included studies. RESULTS: We identified 29 eligible studies involving 2,816 patients. There was a lack of consensus with regard to reported outcomes (clinical and radiographic) after arthroscopic treatment of FAI. Clinical outcomes reported include the Harris Hip Score (45%) and the Non-Arthritic Hip Scale (28%), range of motion (34%), pain scores (24%), and patient satisfaction (28%). The most commonly reported radiographic outcomes included the alpha angle (38%), head-neck offset (14%), and degenerative changes (21%). CONCLUSIONS: There is significant variation in reported clinical and radiographic outcomes after arthroscopic treatment of FAI. This study highlights the need for consistent outcome reporting after arthroscopic FAI surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV, systematic review of Level II, III, and IV studies.