Does improved external rotation following reverse shoulder arthroplasty impact clinical outcomes in patients with rotator cuff pathology and external rotation less than 0°?

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to (1) evaluate whether improved external rotation (ER) in patients with preoperative ER <0° impacts their clinical outcomes following reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA) for rotator cuff (RC) pathology and (2) describe the differences in preoperative factors and postoperative outcomes in this patient population. Our hypothesis was that clinical outcomes would not be affected by improvement in ER using a lateralized glenosphere design. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed 55 patients with preoperative ER <0° who underwent primary RSA for RC pathology with lateralized glenosphere. Pre- and postoperative physician-reported ER was blindly measured using a videographic review of patients externally rotating their arm at the side. Patients were evaluated using 5 different patient-reported outcome score thresholds, measured at 12 months postoperatively: (1) minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Standardized Shoulder Assessment Form (ASES) scores (ie, ≥20-point increase); (2) MCID for Simple Shoulder Test (SST) scores (≥2.4-point increase); (3) visual analog scale (VAS) for pain score >0; (4) mean ASES score (≥75); and (5) mean SST score (≥6.8), each of which was used to stratify the patients into 2 groups-greater than or equal to vs. less than the threshold. This resulted in 5 different evaluations comparing the 2 groups for any difference in postoperative ER or preoperative factors, including Hamada and Goutallier scores. RESULTS: Regardless of the measured outcome, there was no difference in either postoperative physician- or patient-reported ER between patients who achieved scores higher or lower than the thresholds. Both Hamada and Goutallier score distributions were not different between groups across all the evaluated outcomes. Patients who achieved the MCID for ASES had worse preoperative VAS pain (7 vs. 4, P = .011) and SST (1 vs. 3, P = .020) scores. Across all outcome thresholds, except MCID for SST, pain reduction (ΔVAS) was significantly more pronounced in patients exceeding the thresholds. Improved forward flexion rather than ER was observed in those who achieved the ASES (160° vs. 80°, P = .020) and SST MCIDs (150° vs. 90°, P = .037). Finally, patients who exceeded the thresholds experienced higher satisfaction rates. CONCLUSION: Improvement in ER does not appear to impact patient-reported outcome measures, including ASES and SST in patients with preoperative ER <0° undergoing RSA with a lateralized glenosphere. Patients with more severe pain and worse function at baseline experience less postoperative pain and clinically significant improvement in their reported outcomes.

Avoiding Glenoid Baseplate Fixation Failure by Altering Surgical Technique for Varying Bone Densities.

Glenoid baseplate failure is one of the causes of revision and poor outcomes in reverse shoulder arthroplasty (RSA). The objective of this study was to determine whether alterations in surgical technique can improve time-zero fixation of the baseplate in varying bone densities. A secondary objective was to identify whether preoperative radiographic glenoid sclerosis width was associated with the implementation of these techniques. Methods: This study included a biomechanical analysis and a retrospective radiographic review. The biomechanical portion describes 2 alterations to the standard surgical technique (under-preparation [A1] or over-preparation [A2] of the central screw pilot hole) and determined their torque-compression relationship via bone-substitute blocks with varying densities. Patients who underwent the described technical alterations were identified from a registry database of primary RSAs performed between 2007 and 2020. These patients were matched to patients who underwent the standard surgical technique, and preoperative radiographs were compared. Interrater reliability testing was performed to determine reproducibility. Results: With respect to the biomechanical arm, the average compressive force of the baseplate in the low-density block model when using the standard technique was 112 N compared with 300 N for the A1 technique (p = 0.01). In the high-density bone model, the standard technique resulted in failure to seat the baseplate, or screw breakage. Performing the A2 technique, the baseplate was seated without failure, with an average compressive force of 450 N. In the clinical arm, retrospective intraoperative video review for use of the alternative techniques found 20 shoulders in the "low-density" cohort and 21 in the "high-density" cohort. There was a significant difference in the glenoid sclerosis thickness between the experimental and matched control groups in our "high-density" cohort (p = 0.0014). The interrater reliability coefficient was found to be 0.69 for the "low-density" glenoid sclerosis thickness measurement and 0.92 for the "high-density" measurement. Conclusions: In low- and high-density bone models, alterations in surgical technique significantly improved compression and improved the ability to successfully seat the glenoid baseplate. Preoperative radiographs can assist in indicating the alternative technique in the sclerotic glenoid. Clinical Relevance: Utilization of these techniques intraoperatively will improve time-zero fixation of the glenoid baseplate and potentially avoid failure of fixation.

Ureteral Entrapment in an Associated Anterior Column and Posterior Hemitransverse Acetabular Fracture: A Case Report.

CASE: A 59-year-old man was struck by an automobile resulting in left anterior column posterior hemitransverse acetabular fracture with ureteral entrapment. Open reduction internal fixation was performed with removal of the ureter from the fracture. At follow-up 7 months post-op, the patient did not report significant hip or urinary symptoms, and implant position and fracture alignment remained intact. CONCLUSION: Surgeons should be mindful of possible ureteral injury associated with acetabular fractures. Awareness of this rare entrapment within medially displaced acetabular fractures may heighten clinical suspicion and improve management.

Opportunistic CT Screening for Osteoporosis in Patients With Pelvic and Acetabular Trauma: Technique and Potential Clinical Impact.

OBJECTIVES: To present a technique for the use of computed tomography (CT) scans in opportunistic screening for osteoporosis in patients with pelvic and acetabular fractures and to quantify the potential clinical impact in a geriatric trauma population. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Level 1 trauma center. PATIENTS: A total of 335 patients older than 60 years of age who presented to a Level 1 trauma center with a diagnosis of pelvic or acetabular fracture and were evaluated with a CT scan between the years 2010 and 2016. A subset of 255 patients were evaluated with a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan within 6 months of the CT scan. INTERVENTION: Measurement of Hounsfield units (HU) was performed at the midpoint of the femoral neck using a standardized, ovoid section, followed by Livewire measurement. Application of this technique retrospectively to a population of geriatric patients with pelvic or acetabular fractures. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: (1) HUs were measured in a cross section at the midpoint of the femoral neck and, discriminant function analysis was used to establish thresholds for normal bone mineral density, osteopenia, and osteoporosis. (2) Change in the number of diagnoses of osteoporosis after application of the protocol the geriatric trauma cohort. RESULTS: Patients with osteopenia were identified correctly 67.5% of the time (14.3% were incorrectly grouped as normal, and 18.3% were grouped as having osteopenia). Patients with osteoporosis were identified correctly 88.9% of the time (the remaining 11.1% were assigned to osteopenic). The results of discriminant function analysis were used to establish CT thresholds for osteopenia (345 HUs) and osteoporosis (262 HUs). CONCLUSION: CT imaging obtained for pelvic and acetabular fractures can identify patients with osteoporosis without additional radiation exposure or cost. The fitted ovoid region of interest is a standard feature in most CT scan platforms and is quite simple to perform. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Diagnostic Level II. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.