Waiting times for hip arthroplasty: a 10 years-long review

Introduction: Waiting times for elective surgery are indicators for health services quality due to their effect on health, patient satisfaction and the perceived quality of health-care. Objective: The aim of the study was to do a narrative review of the literature about the waiting times for hip arthroplasty, a frequently done and highly successful surgical intervention. Methods: In February-March 2025 a narrative review was performed using the electronic database PubMed and, after the analysis of the titles, abstracts and full texts 10 manuscripts were identified as eligible for the review. The articles have been published between 2016 and 2024; the studies have been conducted from 1998 to 2020; they involved a minimum of 79 to a maximum of 190103 participants. Studies have been conducted in United Kingdom (UK), Canada,Austria, Netherlands, Denmark, South Africa, Slovenia. Conclusions: The review showed a progressive increase of waiting times for hip arthroplasty (with a peak due to COVID-19 pandemic) and showed that a longer waiting time is associated with a poorer quality of life.