Conservative therapy versus arthroscopic surgery of femoroacetabular impingement syndrome (FAI): a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

PurposeFAI (femoroacetabular impingement syndrome) is a common cause of hip pain, resulting in a decreased life quality. This study aims to compare the postoperative clinical outcome between arthroscopic surgery (AT) and conservative treatment (CT).MethodThe six studies were selected from PubMed, Embase and OVID database. The data were extracted and analyzed by RevMan5.3. Mean differences and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. RevMan5.3 was used to assess the risk of bias.ResultSix observational studies were assessed. The methodological quality of the trials indicated five of six studies had a low risk of bias and one article had a high risk of bias. The differences were statistically significant between AT and CT for HOS (follow-up for 6 months), iHOT-33 (follow-up for 6 months) improvement, iHOT-33 (follow-up for 12 months) improvement, iHOT-33 (follow-up for 12 months), EQ-5D-5L index score (follow-up for 12 months) and AT showed higher benefits than CT. Meanwhile no statistically significant were found in iHOT-33 (follow-up for 6 months), EQ-5D-5L index score (follow-up for 6 months), EQ5D-VAS (follow-up for 6 months) and EQ5D-VAS (follow-up for 12 months).ConclusionAT and CT both can have clinical effects when facing FAI. In our meta-analysis, hip arthroscopy is statistically superior to conservative treatment in both long-term and short-term effects.