Erin K. Granger

Factors affecting healing after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair.

Rotator cuff repair has been shown to have good long-term results. Unfortunately, a significant proportion of repairs still fail to heal. Many factors, both patient and surgeon related, can influence healing after repair. Older age, larger tear size, worse muscle quality, greater muscle-tendon unit retraction, smoking, osteoporosis, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia have all shown to negatively influence tendon healing. Surgeon related factors that can influence healing include repair construct-single vs double row, rehabilitation, and biologics including platelet rich plasma and mesenchymal stem cells. Double-row repairs are biomechanically stronger and have better healing rates compared with single-row repairs although clinical outcomes are equivalent between both constructs. Slower, less aggressive rehabilitation programs have demonstrated improved healing with no negative effect on final range of motion and are therefore recommended after repair of most full thickness tears. Additionally no definitive evidence supports the use of platelet rich plasma or mesenchymal stem cells regarding improvement of healing rates and clinical outcomes. Further research is needed to identify effective biologically directed augmentations that will improve healing rates and clinical outcomes after rotator cuff repair.

Psychometric evaluation of the PROMIS Physical Function Computerized Adaptive Test in comparison to the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score and Simple Shoulder Test in patients with rotator cuff disease

BACKGROUND The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Function Computerized Adaptive Test (PF CAT) is a newly developed patient-reported outcome instrument designed by the National Institutes of Health to measure generalized physical function. However, the measurement properties of the PF CAT have not been compared with established shoulder-specific patient-reported outcomes. METHODS Patients with clinical diagnosis of rotator cuff disease completed the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, Simple Shoulder Test (SST), and PF CAT. Responses to each of the 3 instruments were statistically analyzed with a Rasch partial credit model. Associations between instruments, convergent validity, item and person reliability, ceiling and floor effects, dimensionality, and survey length were determined. RESULTS Responses from 187 patients were analyzed. The PF CAT required fewer questions than the ASES or SST (PF CAT, 4.3; ASES, 11; SST, 12). Correlation between all instruments was moderately high. Item reliability was excellent for all instruments, but person reliability of the PF CAT was superior (0.93, excellent) to the SST (0.71, moderate) and ASES (0.48, fair). Ceiling effects were similar among all instruments (PF CAT, 0.53%; SST, 6.1%; ASES, 2.3%). Floor effects were found in 21% of respondents to the SST but in only 3.2% of PF CAT and 2.3% of ASES respondents. CONCLUSION The measurement properties of the PROMIS PF CAT compared favorably with the ASES and SST despite requiring fewer questions to complete. The PROMIS PF CAT had improved person reliability compared with the ASES score and fewer floor effects compared with the SST.

Functional outcomes assessment in shoulder surgery.

The effective evaluation and management of orthopaedic conditions including shoulder disorders relies upon understanding the level of disability created by the disease process. Validated outcome measures are critical to the evaluation process. Traditionally, outcome measures have been physician derived objective evaluations including range of motion and radiologic evaluations. However, these measures can marginalize a patients perception of their disability or outcome. As a result of these limitations, patient self-reported outcomes measures have become popular over the last quarter century and are currently primary tools to evaluate outcomes of treatment. Patient reported outcomes measures can be general health related quality of life measures, health utility measures, region specific health related quality of life measures or condition specific measures. Several patients self-reported outcomes measures have been developed and validated for evaluating patients with shoulder disorders. Computer adaptive testing will likely play an important role in the arsenal of measures used to evaluate shoulder patients in the future. The purpose of this article is to review the general health related quality-of-life measures as well as the joint-specific and condition specific measures utilized in evaluating patients with shoulder conditions. Advances in computer adaptive testing as it relates to assessing dysfunction in shoulder conditions will also be reviewed.

Determining the minimal clinically important difference for the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score, Simple Shoulder Test, and visual analog scale (VAS) measuring pain after shoulder arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND Minimal clinically important differences (MCIDs) for the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, the Simple Shoulder Test (SST), and a visual analog scale (VAS) measuring pain have not been previously described using an anchor-based method after shoulder arthroplasty. The purpose of this study was to determine the MCIDs for these measures after shoulder arthroplasty for glenohumeral arthritis or advanced rotator cuff disease. METHODS Primary anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA), primary reverse TSA, or hemiarthroplasty was performed in 326 patients by 1 of 5 shoulder and elbow surgeons. The SST score, ASES score, and VAS pain score were collected preoperatively and at a minimum of 2 years postoperatively (mean, 3.5 years). The MCIDs were calculated for the ASES score, SST score, and VAS pain score using an anchor-based method. RESULTS The MCIDs for the ASES score, SST score, and VAS pain score were 20.9 (P < .001), 2.4 (P < .0001), and 1.4 (P = .0158), respectively. Duration of follow-up and type of arthroplasty (anatomic TSA vs reverse TSA) did not have a significant effect on the MCIDs (P > .1) except shorter follow-up correlated with a larger MCID for the ASES score (P = .0081). Younger age correlated with larger MCIDs for all scores (P < .024). Female sex correlated with larger MCIDs for the VAS pain score (P = .123) and ASES score (P = .05). CONCLUSIONS Patients treated with a shoulder arthroplasty require a 1.4-point improvement in the VAS pain score, a 2.4-point improvement in the SST score, and a 21-point improvement in the ASES score to achieve a minimal clinical importance difference from the procedure.

Identification of a genetic variant associated with rotator cuff repair healing

BACKGROUND A familial and genetic predisposition for the development of rotator cuff tearing has been identified. The purpose of this study was to determine if a familial predisposition exists for healing after rotator cuff repair and if the reported significant association with a single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the ESRRB gene is present in patients who fail to heal. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study recruited 72 patients undergoing arthroscopic rotator cuff repair for a full-thickness posterosuperior tear. Magnetic resonance imaging studies were performed at a minimum of 1 year postoperatively (average, 2.6 years). Healing failures were classified as lateral or medial. Self-reported family history of rotator cuff tearing data and genome-wide genotypes were available. Characteristics of cases with and without a family history of rotator cuff tearing were compared, and a comparison of the frequency of SNP 1758384 (in ESRRB) was performed between patients who healed and those who failed to heal. RESULTS Of the rotator cuff repairs, 42% failed to heal; 42% of patients reported a family history of rotator cuff tear. Multivariate regression analysis showed a significant association between familiality and overall healing failure (medial and lateral failures) (P = .036) and lateral failures independently (P = .006). An increased risk for the presence of a rare allele for SNP rs17583842 was present in lateral failures compared with those that healed (P = .005). CONCLUSIONS Individuals with a family history of rotator cuff tearing were more likely to have repair failures. Significant association of a SNP variant in the ESRRB gene was also observed with lateral failure.

One-year Patient-reported Outcomes After Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair Do Not Correlate With Mild to Moderate Psychological Distress

BackgroundPatients with shoulder and rotator cuff pathology who exhibit greater levels of psychological distress report inferior preoperative self-assessments of pain and function. In several other areas of orthopaedics, higher levels of distress correlate with a higher likelihood of persistent pain and disability after recovery from surgery. To our knowledge, the relationship between psychological distress and outcomes after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair has not been similarly investigated.Questions/purposes(1) Are higher levels of preoperative psychological distress associated with differences in outcome scores (visual analog scale [VAS] for pain, Simple Shoulder Test, and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score) 1 year after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair? (2) Are higher levels of preoperative psychological distress associated with less improvement in outcome scores (VAS for pain, Simple Shoulder Test, and American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score) 1 year after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair? (3) Does the prevalence of psychological distress in a population with full-thickness rotator cuff tears change when assessed preoperatively and 1 year after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair?MethodsEighty-five patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears were prospectively enrolled; 70 patients (82%) were assessed at 1-year followup. During the study period, the three participating surgeons performed 269 rotator cuff repairs; in large part, the low overall rate of enrollment was related to two surgeons enrolling only two patients total in the initial 14 months of the study. Psychological distress was quantified using the Distress Risk Assessment Method questionnaire, and patients completed self-assessments including the VAS for pain, the Simple Shoulder Test, and the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons score preoperatively and 1 year after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. Fifty of 85 patients (59%) had normal levels of distress, 26 of 85 (31%) had moderate levels of distress, and nine of 85 (11%) had severe levels of distress. Statistical models were used to assess the effect of psychological distress on patient self-assessment of shoulder pain and function at 1 year after surgery.ResultsWith the numbers available, distressed patients were not different from nondistressed patients in terms of postoperative VAS for pain (1.9 [95% confidence interval {CI}, 1.0–2.8] versus 1.0 [95% CI, 0.5–1.4], p = 0.10), Simple Shoulder Test (9 [95% CI, 8.1–10.4] versus 11 [95% CI, 10.0–11.0], p = 0.06), or American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scores (80 [95% CI, 72–88] versus 88 [95% CI, 84–92], p = 0.08) 1 year after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. With the numbers available, distressed patients also were not different from nondistressed patients in terms of the amount of improvement in scores between preoperative assessment and 1-year followup on the VAS for pain (3 [95% CI, 2.2–4.1] versus 2 [95% CI, 1.4–2.9], p = 0.10), Simple Shoulder Test (5.2 [95% CI, 3.7–6.6] versus 5.0 [95% CI, 4.2–5.8], p = 0.86), or American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons scale (38 [95% CI, 29–47] versus 30 [95% CI, 25–36], p = 0.16). The prevalence of psychological distress in our patient population was lower at 1 year after surgery 14 of 70 (20%) versus 35 of 85 (41%) preoperatively (odds ratio, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.17–0.74; p = 0.005).ConclusionsMild to moderate levels of distress did not diminish patient-reported outcomes to a clinically important degree in this small series of patients with rotator cuff tears. This contrasts with reports from other areas of orthopaedic surgery and may be related to a more self-limited course of symptoms in patients with rotator cuff disease or possibly to a beneficial effect of rotator cuff repair on sleep quality or other unrecognized determinants of psychosocial status.Level of EvidenceLevel I, prognostic study.

Incidence of familial tendon dysfunction in patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears.

Background A familial predisposition to the development of rotator cuff tearing has been previously reported. Very little information exists on the development of global tendon dysfunction in patients with rotator cuff tears. The purpose of the current study was to determine the incidence of global tendon dysfunction as well as the need for surgery for tendon dysfunction in patients with rotator cuff tears and their family members and compare them to age-matched controls. Methods Ninety two patients with full-thickness rotator cuff tears and 92 age-matched controls with no history of shoulder dysfunction or surgery responded to several questions regarding tendon diseases in themselves as well as their family members. Individuals were queried regarding the presence of tendon diseases other than the rotator cuff, the need for surgery on these other tendinopathies, the presence of family members having tendinopathies including rotator cuff disease, and the need for family members to have surgery for these problems. Chi-square analysis was performed to compare the incidences between cases and controls (P<0.05 was considered significant). Results The average age of patients in the rotator cuff tear group and control groups were 58.24±7.4 and 58.42±8.5 years, respectively (P=0.876). Results showed 32.3% of patients in the rotator cuff tear group reported that family members had a history of rotator cuff problems or surgery compared to only 18.3% of the controls (P=0.035), and 38.7% of patients in the rotator cuff tear group reported they had a history of other tendon problems compared to only 19.3% of individuals in the control group (P=0.005). Conclusion Individuals with rotator cuff tears report a higher incidence of family members having rotator cuff problems or surgery as well as a higher incidence of other tendinopathies compared to controls. This data further supports a familial predilection for the development of rotator cuff tearing and generalized tendinopathies.

Factors influencing direct clinical costs of outpatient arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery

BACKGROUND Very limited information exists about factors affecting direct clinical costs of rotator cuff repair surgery. The purpose of this study was to determine the direct cost of outpatient arthroscopic rotator cuff repair surgery using a unique value-driven outcomes tool and to identify patient- and treatment-related variables affecting cost. METHODS Cost data were derived for arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs performed by 3 surgeons from March 2014 to June 2015 using the value-driven outcomes tool. Costs included overall total direct cost, which included facility utilization costs, medication costs, supply costs, and other ancillary costs. Univariate and multivariate regressions were performed to determine the effect of various patient-related and surgical-related factors on costs. RESULTS There were 170 arthroscopic rotator cuff repairs performed during the study period. Multivariate analysis showed significant correlations between higher total direct cost and the presence of a subscapularis repair being performed (P = .015) and total number of anchors used (P < .0001). Higher body mass index, severe systemic illness, 1 of the 3 surgeons, biceps tenodesis using an anchor, and total sum of anchors were correlated with higher facility utilization costs (P < .04). Severe systemic illness, addition of a subscapularis repair, 1 of the 3 surgeons, and additional subacromial decompression were correlated with higher pharmacy costs (P < .006). The addition of a subscapularis repair, total sum of anchors, and severe muscle changes to the supraspinatus were correlated with higher supply costs (P < .015). CONCLUSIONS From a direct cost perspective, implementation of strategies to reduce overall costs should focus on reducing overall anchor quantity or price.

Evidence for an Environmental and Inherited Predisposition Contributing to the Risk for Global Tendinopathies or Compression Neuropathies in Patients With Rotator Cuff Tears

Background: Rotator cuff tearing has been found to be clinically associated with other tendinopathies and compression neuropathies; a significant excess of these phenotypes has been seen in patients with rotator cuff tears. It is unclear if the association is secondary to environmental or genetic influences. Purpose: To examine population-based data for comorbid association of rotator cuff tearing and tendinopathies and compression neuropathies and to determine whether the association extends to relatives of patients with rotator cuff tears, which could suggest a genetic contribution. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: The Utah Population Database (UPDB) contains health and genealogical data on over 2 million Utah residents. Current Procedural Terminology, Fourth Revision, codes (CPT 4) and International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes (ICD-9) entered in patient records were used to identify patients with rotator cuff tearing and with comorbid tendinopathies and compression neuropathies. We tested the hypothesis of excess familial clustering of these other phenotypes with rotator cuff tearing using a well-established method (estimation of relative risks) in the overall study group of rotator cuff patients (N = 1889). Results: Significantly elevated risk for elbow, hand/wrist, foot/ankle, knee, and hip tendinopathies, as well as for all tendinopathies and compression neuropathies, was observed in rotator cuff tear cases themselves (P < 2.8e–13), in their spouses (P < .02), and in their first-degree relatives (P < 5.5e–4). A significant excess of elbow (P = .01), foot/ankle (P = .04), and all tendinopathies (P = 3.1e–3) was also observed in second-degree relatives, and a significant excess of compression neuropathies (P = .03) was observed in third-degree relatives. Conclusion: The current study shows strong evidence of familial clustering of rotator cuff tearing with other tendinopathies and with compression neuropathy. Observed increased risks in spouses and first-degree relatives supports shared environmental risk factors for rotator cuff tearing, most tendinopathies, and compression neuropathies. Increased risks to third-degree relatives for compression neuropathy suggest an association of these phenotypes that may have a shared genetic etiology.

Complications after subpectoral biceps tenodesis using a dual suture anchor technique

Purpose: A variety of fixation techniques for subpectoral biceps tenodeses have been described including interference screw and suture anchor fixation. Biomechanical data suggests that dual suture anchor fixation has equivalent strength compared to interference screw fixation. The purpose of the study is to determine the early complication rate after subpectoral biceps tenodesis utilizing a dual suture anchor technique. Materials and Methods: A total of 103 open subpectoral biceps tenodeses were performed over a 3-year period using a dual suture anchor technique. There were 72 male and 31 female shoulders. The average age at the time of tenodesis was 45.5 years. 41 patients had a minimum of 6 months clinical follow-up (range, 6 to 45 months). The tenodesis was performed for biceps tendonitis, superior labral tears, biceps tendon subluxation, biceps tendon partial tears, and revisions of prior tenodeses. Results: There were a total of 7 complications (7%) in the entire group. There were 4 superficial wound infections (4%). There were 2 temporary nerve palsies (2%) resulting from the interscalene block. One patient had persistent numbness of the ear and a second patient had a temporary phrenic nerve palsy resulting in respiratory dysfunction and hospital admission. One patient developed a pulmonary embolism requiring hospital admission and anticoagulation. There were no hematomas, wound dehiscences, peripheral nerve injuries, or ruptures. In the sub-group of patients with a minimum of 6 months clinical follow-up, the only complication was a single wound infection treated with oral antibiotics. Conclusions: Subpectoral biceps tenodesis utilizing a dual suture anchor technique has a low early complication rate with no ruptures or deep infections. The complication rate is comparable to those previously reported for interference screw subpectoral tenodesis and should be considered as a reasonable alternative to interference screw fixation. Level of Evidence: Level IV-Retrospective Case Series