[Orthopedic Reviews 2014; 6:5285] [page 39]

Since polyethylene is one of the most fre-quently used biomaterials as a liner in total hip arthroplasty, strong efforts have been made to improve design and material properties over the last 50 years. Antioxidants seems to be a promising alternative to further increase dura-bility and reduce polyethylene wear in long term. As of yet, only in vitro results are avail-able. While they are promising, there is yet no clinical evidence that the new material shows these advantages in vivo. To answer the ques-tion if vitamin-E enhanced ultra-high molecu-lar weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is able to improve long-term survivorship of cementless total hip arthroplasty we initiated a random-ized long-term multicenter trial. Designed as a superiority study, the oxidation index assessed in retrieval analyses of explanted liners was chosen as primary parameter. Radiographic results (wear rate, osteolysis, radiolucency) and functional outcome (Harris Hip Scores