Patient-related Risk Factors for Postoperative Stiffness Requiring Surgical Intervention After Arthroscopic Rotator...

Risk factors for stiffness after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (RCR) have been limited to studies with small patient numbers. The objective is to determine patient-related risk factors for stiffness after RCR.

The PearlDiver database was queried from 2007 to 2015 for patients undergoing isolated arthroscopic RCR. A multivariate binomial logistic regression analysis assessed for risk factors requiring a postoperative manipulation under anesthesia (MUA) or lysis of adhesions (LOA) within 9 months after RCR.

Two hundred thirty-two of 19,229 patients (1.2%) underwent a LOA and/or MUA within 9 months after arthroscopic RCR. Significant risk factors identified were age less than 50 years (odds ratio [OR], 1.9; P < 0.0001), female gender (OR, 2.0; P < 0.0001), diabetes mellitus (DM) type I (OR, 2.7; P < 0.0001), hypothyroidism (OR, 1.3; P = 0.020), and systemic lupus erythematosus (OR, 2.1; P = 0.004). However, tobacco use was associated with a 0.5 risk of developing stiffness (P < 0.0001).

Systemic lupus erythematosus, hypothyroidism, and DMI (but not DMII) in addition to young age and female gender were risk factors for LOA/MUA after arthroscopic RCR.