Comment on Brunnekreef et al.: Is etoricoxib effective in preventing heterotopic ossification after primary total hip arthroplasty?

摘要

Dear Editor, We have read the article entitled "Is etoricoxib effective in preventing heterotopic ossification after primary total hip arthroplasty?" by Brunnekreef et al. published in International Orthopaedics with great interest. In this study, the authors proved that etoricoxib, a selective cyclo-oxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, was effective for the prevention of heterotopic ossification (HO) following total hip arthroplasty (THA). However, we have several opinions which we would like to communicate with the authors. 1. Different orthopaedic surgeons may have different operative skills, which may result in varied incidence of HO following THA. Therefore, we would like to know whether all of the patients were managed by one doctor. 2. The follow-up time was only six months, which seems to be a little short. We suggest that longer follow-up time (at least one year) should be carried out to assess the long-term efficacy of etoricoxib for the prevention of HO. 3. With regard to radiograph assessment, the authors used a blinding and randomised strategy. We appreciated that this may reduce subjective bias.