Correlations between three patient-assessed shoulder instability scales.

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Shoulder Instability Research
• Patient-Reported Outcome Measures

Background:

• Traumatic anteroinferior glenohumeral instability is a common cause of shoulder dysfunction.
• The Latarjet procedure is a surgical option for stabilizing the shoulder.
• Evaluating patient-assessed outcomes is crucial for understanding treatment effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the correlation between three patient-assessed shoulder instability scales: Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (WOSI), Melbourne Instability Shoulder Score (MISS), and L'Insalata Shoulder Questionnaire (L'Insalata).
• To compare these correlations before and after Latarjet stabilization surgery for traumatic anteroinferior glenohumeral instability.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective review of patients with anteroinferior shoulder instability, comparing pre- and post-operative groups.
• Analysis of correlations between WOSI, MISS, and L'Insalata scores using statistical methods.
• Inclusion of 64 patients (30 men, 2 women; mean age 26.7 years) pre-surgery and 32 patients (31 men, 1 woman; mean age 27 years) post-surgery (mean follow-up 21.3 months).

Main Results:

• All three scales showed significantly higher scores post-Latarjet surgery compared to pre-surgery.
• The L'Insalata score was significantly higher than WOSI and MISS scores post-operatively.
• Moderate to high correlations were found between all scale pairs, varying based on operative status.

Conclusions:

• The Melbourne Instability Shoulder Score (MISS) and Western Ontario Shoulder Instability Index (WOSI) demonstrate moderate correlation.
• The correlation of the L'Insalata Shoulder Questionnaire with other scales is influenced by the patient's surgical status.
• Sole reliance on the L'Insalata scale for assessing shoulder instability outcomes post-Latarjet is not recommended.