Prognostic Factors Affecting Long-Term Outcomes After Elbow Dislocation: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic surgery
• Patient-reported outcomes
• Health disparities

Background:

• Simple elbow dislocations are common injuries.
• Understanding factors influencing patient outcomes is crucial for effective treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe patient-reported outcomes after simple elbow dislocation.
• To identify baseline factors predicting these outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Adult patients with simple elbow dislocations (2000-2018) completed the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (QuickDASH) questionnaire.
• Multivariate Tobit regression models analyzed factors associated with QuickDASH scores.
• Social deprivation was assessed using the Area Deprivation Index.

Main Results:

• At a mean follow-up of 67.5 months, 95% of patients reported satisfaction with good clinical outcomes (QuickDASH 9.0 ± 14.8).
• Higher social deprivation, older age, female sex, high-energy injury, and worker's compensation or Medicare insurance were associated with worse QuickDASH scores.
• Multivariate analysis confirmed social deprivation and insurance status as significant predictors of worse outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Simple elbow dislocations generally have good outcomes and high treatment satisfaction.
• Greater social deprivation and worker's compensation or Medicare insurance are linked to significantly worse outcomes.
• Early therapy did not appear to influence long-term outcomes in this cohort.