Myocardial function in hip replacement patients.
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Myocardial function in patients with metal-on-metal hip replacement.
IRAS ID
163858
Contact name
Alan G Fraser
Contact email
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 31 days
Research summary
There have been a few reports of abnormal heart function in patients who have had a metal-on-metal hip replacement. It has been suggested that this may be caused by release of heavy metals from the hip joint into the blood stream. A recent study on patients who had previous metal-on-metal hip replacements showed small but significant changes in myocardial function observed with standard transthoracic echocardiography. This study made us concerned that there may be a strong association between heavy metals and induced heart dysfunction. Hence, further study is needed to evaluate this possible correlation with detailed transthoracic echocardiography.
We propose to study patients with very high level of heavy metals in their blood stream and compare them with three other groups with similar comorbidities. These groups will include patients with metal-on-metal hip replacements and low heavy metal levels, metal-on-polyethylene hip replacements, and ceramic-on-polyethylene hip replacements.
REC name
Wales REC 1
REC reference
14/WA/1236
Date of REC Opinion
23 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion