A Systematic Review of the Clinical Efficacy of Oxidized Zirconium as a Bearing Surface in Hip Arthroplasty

Background Total hip replacement (THA) is an established treatment for end stage hip arthritis providing reliable pain free function. The long-term survival of THA depends on multiple factors, But aseptic loosening and wear induced osteolysis are most common causes of failure and search for alternative bearing surfaces became an important issue. Aim of the Work Our aim in this study is to evaluate efficacy of Oxide zirconium femoral head as a bearing surface in Total hip arthroplasty patients regarding clinical and radiological outcomes. Patients and Methods The types of study was a prospective and retrospective comparative cohort studies. Search results were conducted to systematic review management software and manually screened for eligibility to be included. PRISMA flowchart was produced based on the search results and the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Results OxZr was found to be less sensitive than CoCr to these variations and maintained a lower coefficient of friction when articulated with UHMWPE, even in poor lubricants. Conclusion Most of studies which were included in this review reported no significant differences in the mean polyethylene wear rate, survival rate, mean postoperative clinical subjective scores and complications’ rate of patients treated with OxZi femoral heads compared with the respective mean wear values of those who treated with CoCr femoral heads, While OxZi is offered at a cost premium, it seems that this type of alternate bearing surface is not clinically superior to the traditional metal bearing surface inTHA.