A urine test may be able to predict which hip replacement patients will develop osteolysis, according to a study in the Journal of Orthopaedic Research.
Here are four things to know:
1. Approximately 10 percent of patients who receive artificial hips will require revision surgery within 10 to 15 years due to osteolysis, a condition in which adjacent bone deteriorates and the implant loosens, the New Atlas reports.
2. The researchers used a repository of 24 hour urine samples collected before surgery and annually after in 26 patients; of these patients, 16 developed osteolysis and 10 did not.
3. Of the seven measured biomarkers in the study, free deoxypyridinoline was best able to predict osteolysis development. Patients who developed osteolysis also demonstrated higher-than-average levels of alpha-CTX and interleukin-6.
4. The results indicate that non-invasive biomarkers can identify patients at risk for peri-implant osteolysis before the emergence of radiographic signs.
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