A single dose of zoledronic acid helps prevent migration of a total hip replacement, according to a report in the February issue of the Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery.

Gerald Friedl, M.D., and colleagues from the Medical University of Graz in Austria randomly assigned 50 patients who had undergone cementless total hip arthroplasty with osteonecrosis of the femoral head to a single infusion of 4 mg of zoledronic acid or a saline solution.

During a median follow-up of 2.8 years, the researchers found that a single dose of zoledronic acid minimized migration of the acetabular component (the cups) in both the transverse and vertical directions but did not significantly reduce subsidence of the stem. Although both groups had rapid increases in the Harris hip-rating score with time, the increase was more pronounced in the zoledronic acid group, the authors note.

via Single Drug Dose Prevents Migration of Hip Replacement – Zoledronic acid helps improve fixation of a cementless implant – ModernMedicine.