title: A comparison of perioperative outcomes in patients with and without rheumatoid arthritis after receiving a total shoulder replacement arthroplasty.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The long-term survival rate of total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) is comparable to hip and knee arthroplasty. Although TSA is considered a safe and effective procedure with low complications in patients with osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), data are lacking on perioperative complications. Complication rates and hospital disposition differences between patients with and without RA who underwent TSA were investigated. We hypothesized that RA patients would have poorer perioperative outcomes after TSA.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample was used to capture 25,398 patients between 1988 and 2005 who underwent TSA. Of these, 1,186 patients had a primary diagnosis of RA and were compared with 24,212 patients without RA. Analyses addressed perioperative complications and hospital disposition factors using bivariate and logistic regression models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall complication rates were exceptionally low in both groups. Hospital disposition factors were significantly different between the 2 groups. The RA cohort had shorter average lengths of stay, higher likelihood of routine discharge, and lower inflation-adjusted cost before and after adjustment for covariates.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The occurrence of complications in the perioperative setting was less than 1% for both study groups in most variables investigated, and there were only minimal differences in perioperative complications between the groups. The significant differences in hospital disposition factors suggest that patients with RA may have less complex hospital stays and may be more comfortable being discharged under their own care. Recent studies describing the overall improvement in the management of patients with RA may also help explain these findings.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings suggest that the perioperative complications of a total shoulder replacement for patients with and without RA are similar. Contrary to our expectations, TSA patients with RA had shorter and less costly hospital stays and were more likely to have routine discharge. Complications are likely more long-term in nature than detected in this study and require longer follow-up beyond perioperative periods for fruition.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, USA.
authors.forename: Dustin
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hambright
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Henderson
authors.forename: Chad
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Ted
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Worrell
authors.forename: Claude T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Moorman
authors.forename: Michael P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Bolognesi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000191:economics / Q000601:surgery*; D019643:Arthroplasty, Replacement / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012785:Shoulder Joint / Q000601:surgery*