Validation of the Aarhus periacetabular osteotomy database.

BACKGROUND

Periacetabular osteotomy (PAO) is the preferred surgical treatment for hip dysplasia. In Denmark, patients undergoing PAO at two orthopaedic departments are registered in a disease registry, the Aarhus PAO-database. This study aimed to validate the Aarhus PAO-database by assessing the registration completeness compared to the Danish National Patient Registry (DNPR).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Patients registered in the Aarhus PAO-database were compared to patients identified in DNPR as having undergone PAO for hip dysplasia. Further, a random selection of 20 PAO procedures from each registry per year (2014-2021) was validated by comparing the information from the registries to the hospital's electronic medical records.

RESULTS

Between 2014 and 2021, 1144 PAO procedures were registered in the Aarhus PAO-database and 1150 in DNPR. The overall registration completeness was 94.7% (95% CI: 93.3;95.9) with 1116 PAO proceduresincluded in both datasets. The diagnosis and surgery procedure were verified as hip dysplasia and PAO for all randomly selected patients, and almost all discrepancies were resolved (> 95%), using the medical records.

CONCLUSION

The Aarhus PAO-database has effectively captured all patients who underwent PAO for hip dysplasia from 2014 to 2021. It appears to be a valid resource for future research as well as for ensuring and improving the quality of hip dysplasia treatment.