Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Early Outcomes, Pitfalls, and Challenges

• Published in: Orthopaedic surgery 2020-10, Vol.12 (5), p.1380-1387
• Main Authors: He, Yong, Xiao, Lian‐bo, Zhai, Wei‐tao, Xu, Yue‐lin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Classification; Clinical; Clinical outcomes; Fractures; Hospitals; Joint replacement surgery; Joint surgery; Pain; Patient satisfaction; Reverse shoulder arthroplasty; Rheumatoid arthritis; Risk factor; Rotator cuff; Shoulder
• ISSN: 1757-7853; 1757-7861
• DOI: 10.1111/os.12769

Objective To evaluate the early outcomes and risk factors of reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods A retrospective study was performed on RA patients who had undergone RSA between January 2016 and January 2018. Preoperative glenohumeral joint damage was evaluated according to two radiographic classification systems. The severity of joint damage was estimated using Larsen's method, while the Levigne‐Franceschi method was used to assess the type of destruction. Further, we recorded intra‐ and postoperative complications. Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) was used to assess the degree of shoulder pain while shoulder function was evaluated with the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) Shoulder Score. In addition, patients' subjective outcome and range of shoulder motion were recorded. Radiographs were taken and examined during the follow‐up period. Paired t‐test was used to determine the difference in measurement data between preoperative and the last follow‐up. VAS was analyzed using the Wilcoxon matched‐pairs signed‐rank test. Results A total of 14 patients with 14 shoulders were included. All the patients were female with an average age of 60.29 years (range, 49–71 years) at the time of surgery and an average RA disease duration of 24.57 years (range, 5–40 years). Seven of the 14 patients had a history of joint surgery related to RA. Meanwhile, 11 of the 14 shoulders showed glenoid bone defect, and eccentric reaming was performed intraoperatively to avoid base plate malposition. The mean follow‐up period for the 14 patients was 2.76 years (range, 2–4 years). The mean VAS decreased from a value of 5.71 ± 1.10 preoperatively to 1.36 ± 0.61 postoperatively (P