Schairer WW. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2014. doi:10.1016/j.jse.2013.12.004.
Compared with patients who underwent hemiarthroplasty or total shoulder arthroplasty, patients who underwent reverse total shoulder arthroplasty had higher readmission rates, according to study results.
Using the State Inpatient Database from seven different states, researchers identified 26,218 patients who underwent hemiarthroplasty, total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) or reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RTSA) from 2005 to 2010. The researchers determined the 90-day readmission rate, causes of readmission and risk factors for readmission. Additionally, factors and risk for readmission were measured using multivariate modeling and a Cox proportional hazards model.
Study results showed an overall 90-day readmission rate of 7.3%, with RTSA showing the highest rate at 11.2%, followed by hemiarthroplasty at 8.2% and TSA at 6%. Eighty-two percent of readmissions were due to medical complications and 18% were due to surgical complications. The researchers found the most common medical diagnosis was osteoarthritis, followed by deep venous thrombosis or pulmonary embolism, and pneumonia, and the most common surgical cause of readmission was infection, followed by dislocation.
Risk of readmission increased with age, and patients with Medicaid had more than a 50% greater risk of readmission vs. patients with Medicare, according to the researchers.
A lower risk of readmission was found among procedures performed at medium-volume and high-volume hospitals compared with low-volume centers.
Disclosure: The authors have no relevant financial disclosures.
