Femoral anteversion is correlated with acetabular version and coverage in Asian women with anterior and global deficient subgroups of hip dysplasia: a CT study

Morphological correlation between the acetabulum and femur at the hip joint is still controversial. We tested the hypothesis that femoral anteversion correlates with acetabular version and coverage in patients with developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). Using pelvic computed tomography (CT) images of 79 hips in 49 Asian women with DDH and 49 normal hips, we measured femoral anteversion, the axial and vertical acetabular version and the acetabular sector angle (ASA) to demarcate femoral head coverage. Depending on the location of the acetabular bone defect, dysplastic hips were divided into three subgroups: the anterior, global and posterior deficiency groups. We performed a comparative analysis between dysplastic and normal hips using the Wilcoxon rank sum test, and a relative analysis between femoral anteversion and acetabular measurements in dysplastic hips using Pearson's correlation coefficient. The amount of femoral anteversion in dysplastic hips was greater and more variable than in normal hips (p < 0.0001, p = 0.0277 respectively). Femoral anteversion in dysplastic hips correlated significantly with acetabular anteversion in the groups with anterior and global deficiency subgroups (p < 0.05, r = 0.2990, p < 0.05, r = 0.451 respectively), but not with the posterior deficiency subgroup. Femoral anteversion also correlated with vertical acetabular version. When acetabular coverage was examined, significant correlations were noted between femoral anteversion and anterior and superior coverage, but not with posterior coverage. These correlations were not observed in normal hips. Our results showed significantly greater and more variable femoral anteversion in DDH, and a significant correlation between femoral anteversion and acetabular version and coverage in DDH with anterior and global acetabular bone deficiency.