Difference in outcome of shoulder surgery between workers' compensation and nonworkers' compensation populations.
The purpose of this study was to review the association between compensation status and surgical outcome especially of the shoulder. Given the high prevalence of shoulder injuries in the workplace and the large proportion of workers compensation (WC) claims involving such injuries, it is worth examining the correlation between WC status and surgical outcome of the shoulder. All studies published in journals (MEDLINE and PubMed) from 1980 through 2007 on surgical interventions performed on the shoulder in which workers compensation status was documented and the postoperative functional outcome was compared according to that status were pooled for meta-analysis. This systematic review shows that compensation status of an individual receiving shoulder surgery is a consistent positive predictor of poor functional outcome. The majority of questions posed in the most commonly adopted shoulder-specific functional outcome measurement tools were subjective in nature and may account for part of the phenomenon.
Koljonen
Paul
P
E7 Manhattan Court, KLN, Hong Kong, China. paulak@gmail.com
Chong
Calvin
C
Yip
Daniel
D
D000328:Adult; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000379:methods; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D011379:Prognosis; D020127:Recovery of Function; D018570:Risk Assessment; D019534:Shoulder Impingement Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D020069:Shoulder Pain / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D018434:Sickness Impact Profile; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014942:Workers' Compensation / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult