The development of this guideline was funded by the Stichting Kwaliteitsgelden Medisch Specialisten (SKMS; Foundation for Quality Funding for Medical Specialists).

Aim of the guideline

The main purpose of the guideline is to provide the best possible care to patients with osteoarthritis of the hip, by informing optimal treatment decisions and reducing unwarranted variation in the delivery of care and long-term failure of the implants.

Envisaged users of the guideline

This guideline was developed for all Dutch healthcare providers of patients with osteoarthritis of the hip.

Attention was paid to the patients’ perspective by participation in the working group of the Dutch Arthritis Society and National Association ReumaZorg Nederland. In addition, the Patients Federation Netherlands assessed the draft guideline during the consultation phase and made suggestions for improvement of the guideline.

The guideline was developed in agreement with the criteria set by the advisory committee on guideline development of the Dutch Association of Medical Specialists (Medisch Specialistische Richtlijnen 2.0; OMS 2011), which are based on the AGREE II instrument (Brouwers (2010); www.agreetrust.org). The guideline was developed using an evidence-based approach endorsing GRADE methodology, and meeting all criteria of AGREE-II. Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) is a systematic approach for synthesising evidence and grading of recommendations offering transparency at each stage of the guideline development (Guyatt, 2011; Schünemann, 2013).

The guideline development process involves a number of phases: a preparatory phase, development phase, commentary phase, and authorisation phase. After authorisation, the guideline has to be disseminated and implemented and its uptake and use have to be evaluated. Finally, the guideline has to be kept up-to-date. Each phase involves a number of practical steps Schünemann, (2014).

As a first step in the early preparatory phase, a broad forum discussion was held and all relevant stakeholders were consulted to define and prioritise the key issues the recommendations should address. Subsequently, the methodologist together with the chairman of the working group created a draft list of key issues, which was extensively discussed in the working group.

Despite aiming for an update of the guideline from 2010, due to financial constraints not all clinical questions from the former edition could be updated, so it was decided to perform a so-called modular update. Selecting modules with a higher priority for update formed part of this discussion and selection process. This resulted in the following approach.

Modules that were updated:

• Indications for primary total hip arthroplasty.
• Type of bearing (part of the module surgical techniques).
• Diameter of the head (part of the module surgical techniques).
• Surgical approach (part of the module surgical techniques).
• Systemic antibiotics (part of the module perioperative care in primary total hip arthroplasty).
• Antibiotic-impregnated bone cement (part of the module perioperative care in primary total hip arthroplasty).
• Preoperative decolonisation (part of the module perioperative care in primary total hip arthroplasty).
• Routine follow-up (part of the module postoperative care).

Modules considered still valid:

• cemented versus uncemented hip prosthesis (part of the module surgical techniques in primary total hip arthroplasty).

Modules removed from the guideline:

• Resurfacing hip prosthesis (part of the module surgical techniques in primary total hip arthroplasty).
• Minimally invasive surgery (part of the module surgical techniques in primary total hip arthroplasty).
• Guidelines for MRSA carriers (part of the module perioperative care in primary total hip arthroplasty).

Modules that were replaced by a reference to related guidelines:

• Hematogenous infection (part of the module postoperative care).
• Prevention of thrombo-embolic complications (part of the module perioperative care in primary total hip arthroplasty).
• Physcial therapy (part of the module perioperative care in primary total hip arthroplasty).

Modules not updated because guidelines are expected soon:

• Anaesthesiological technique (part of the module perioperative care in primary total hip arthroplasty).

Modules that were added:

• Patient Reported Outcome Measures.
• Place and organisation of fasttrack.
• Organization of care for frail elderly.

The selected (high priority) issues were translated into carefully formulated clinical questions, defining patient/problem, intervention, and prioritising the outcomes relevant for decision-making.

The literature was systematically searched using the databases MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Selection of the relevant literature was based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria and was carried out by a member of the working group in collaboration with the methodologist. For each of the clinical questions, the evidence was summarised by the guideline methodologist using the GRADE approach: a systematic review was performed for each of the relevant outcomes and the quality of evidence was assessed in one of four grades (high, moderate, low, very low) by analysing limitations in study design or execution (risk of bias), inconsistency of results, indirectness of evidence, imprecision, and publication bias. The evidence synthesis was complemented by a working group member considering any additional arguments relevant to the clinical question. Evidence synthesis, complementary arguments, and draft recommendations were extensively discussed in the working group and final recommendations were formulated. Final recommendations are based on the balance of desirable and undesirable outcomes, the quality of the body of evidence across all relevant outcomes, values and preferences, and (if relevant) resource use. The strength of a recommendation reflects the extent to which the guideline panel was confident that desirable effects of the intervention outweigh undesirable effects, or vice versa, across the range of patients for whom the recommendation is intended. The strength of a recommendation is determined by weighting all relevant arguments together, the weight of the body of evidence from the systematic literature analysis, as well as the weight of all complementary arguments. Guideline panels must use judgment in integrating these factors to make a strong or weak recommendation. Thus, a low quality of the body of evidence from the systematic literature analysis does not exclude a strong recommendation, and weak recommendations may follow from high quality evidence Schünemann, (2013).

After reaching consensus in the working group, the draft guideline was subjected to peer review by all relevant stakeholders. Amendments were made and agreed upon by the working group, and the final text was presented to the Netherlands Orthopaedic Association (NOV), the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy (KNGF), the Dutch Society of Medical Microbiology (NVMM) and the Dutch Geriatrics Society (NVKG) for formal authorisation and to the National Association ReumaZorg Nederland and the Dutch Arthritis Society for approval. The final guideline was approved by the National Association ReumaZorg Nederland and the Dutch Arthritis Society, and was officially authorised by the Netherlands Orthopaedic Association, the Royal Dutch Society for Physical Therapy, the Dutch Society of Medical Microbiology and the Dutch Geriatrics Society. The guideline was published and is freely accessible in the Dutch guideline database (Richtlijnendatabase, www.richtlijnendatabase.nl). The Dutch guideline database has a modular structure, with each clinical question as a separate entry, thus allowing for modular updates.

References

Brouwers M, Kho ME, Browman GP, et al. AGREE II: Advancing guideline development, reporting and evaluation in healthcare. Can Med Assoc J. Dec;182:E839-842; doi: 10.1503/cmaj.090449.

Guyatt G, Oxman AD, Akl EA, et al. GRADE guidelines: 1. Introduction-GRADE evidence profiles and summary of findings tables. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 2011;64 383–394. (doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2010. 04.026).

Schünemann H, Brożek J, Guyatt G, et al. GRADE handbook for grading quality of evidence and strength of recommendations. Updated October 2013. The GRADE Working Group, 2013. Available from https://www.gradepro.org/

Schünemann HJ, Wiercioch W, Etxeandia I, et al. Guidelines 2.0: systematic development of a comprehensive checklist for a successful guideline enterprise. CMAJ. 2014;186(3):E123-42. doi: 10.1503/cmaj.131237. Epub 2013 Dec 16. PubMed PMID: 24344144.

OMS, Orde van Medisch Specialisten. Eindrapport Medisch Specialistische Richtlijnen 2.0. Available from: https://www.demedischspecialist.nl/onderwerp/raad-kwaliteit. 2011.