Efficacy of early arthroscopic shoulder treatment of moderate full-thickness tear of the supraspinatus tendon / 中华创伤杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To investigate the clinical effect of early arthroscopic shoulder treatment of moderate full-thickness tear of the supraspinatus tendon.Methods:A retrospective case control study was conducted to analyze the clinical data of 43 patients with moderate full-thickness supraspinatus tendon tear admitted to First Affiliated Hospital of Xi 'an Jiaotong University from January 2018 to June 2020，including 17 males and 26 females，aged from 41 to 68 years［（55.9±8.2）years］. All patients had arthroscopic shoulder supraspinatus tendon suture and acromioplasty，including 22 patients underwent surgery within 1 month after persistent shoulder pain and motion limitation in early group and 21 patients between 1 month and 3 months in late group. The duration of operation and intraoperative blood loss were recorded. The visual analogue scale（VAS），American Shoulder and Elbow Society（ASES）score and Constant-Murley score were assessed before operation and at postoperative 3 weeks，6 weeks，3 months and 6 months. The complications were detected with 6 months after operation. Results:All patients were followed up for 6-7 months［（6.4±0.4）months］. There was no statistical significance in operation duration and intraoperative blood loss between the two groups（ P>0.05）. At 3 weeks，6 weeks，3 months and 6 months after operation，there showed significant decrease of VAS but significant increase of ASES and Constant-Murley scores compared to preoperation（ P<0.05）. At 3 weeks and 6 weeks after operation，the VAS in early group［（4.4±0.9）points，（3.7±0.8）points］was lower than that in late group［（5.5±1.0）points，（4.8±1.1）points］；while the ASES score［（49.1±4.6）points，（56.8±4.1）points］and Constant-Murley score［（54.1±4.8）points，（64.1±4.4）points］in early group were higher than those in late group［ASES score：（45.2±5.4）points，（50.3±5.4）points；Constant-Murley score：（50.5±3.3）points，（58.2±3.9）points］（ P<0.05）. At 3 months and 6 months after operation，the two groups showed no statistical significance in these scores. There were no postoperative complications such as infection or nerve injury in both group within 6 months. Conclusion:For moderate full-thickness tear of the supraspinatus tendon，arthroscopic shoulder surgery performed within 1 month after persistent shoulder pain and motion limitation can achieve better pain relief and faster functional rehabilitation in the short term compared with surgery performed 1-3 months later.