A comparative analysis of work-related outcomes after humeral hemiarthroplasty and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: The return to work of young patients undergoing shoulder arthroplasty is increasingly important. Whereas studies have shown superior outcomes of reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) compared with humeral hemiarthroplasty (HHA), no prior literature has compared RTSA with HHA in regard to return to work.

METHODS: A retrospective review of a prospectively collected shoulder arthroplasty registry was performed to analyze all patients who underwent RTSA or HHA at a single institution. A validated questionnaire evaluating return to work postoperatively was administered at baseline and at follow-up in addition to the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons and visual analog scale (VAS) pain surveys.

RESULTS: The study included 40 RTSA and 41 HHA patients. The average age at surgery was 68.6 years in the RTSA group and 60.8 years in the HHA group (P < .001). Postoperatively, 65% of RTSA patients returned to work compared with 70.7% of HHA patients (P = .64). There was no significant difference in the time to return to work between the RTSA (2.3 months) and HHA (3.1 months) groups (P = .46). Both groups had statistically significant improvements in both the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons and VAS scores. The improvement in pain on the VAS for patients undergoing RTSA (-5.6) trended toward significance compared with HHA (-4.2) (P = .056).

CONCLUSION: Roughly two-thirds of patients undergoing either HHA or RTSA were able to return to work postoperatively, with no significant difference found between the 2 groups in terms of time to return to work, despite that patients undergoing RTSA were significantly older.