Does the critical shoulder angle influence retear and functional outcome after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair? A...

This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the correlation between increased critical shoulder angle (CSA) and higher retear rates and functional outcomes after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR).

PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases published before January 2022 were comprehensively searched. Two reviewers independently reviewed the titles and abstracts using the specified criteria. Studies were included if the authors clearly described the correlation between the CSA and rotator cuff repair. Data on patient characteristics, mean CSA, retear rate, and the functional score was pooled from the selected articles. A meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager (RevMan) 5.4.1 software, 2020 (Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark).

Eleven articles involving 1449 patients from 7 countries were included. The ages of the patients ranged from 45 to 75 years. The follow-up period ranged from 6 to 96 months. The mean CSA was greater in the retear group than in the non-retear group after ARCR (mean difference 2.73°; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.69-4.77) (p = 0.009). Three studies evaluated the association between increased CSA and the postoperative retear rate. All three studies showed a higher postoperative retear rate in patients with an increased CSA (odds ratio 5.35; 95% CI 2.02-14.15; p = 0.0007). No association was found between CSA and Constant-Murley (Constant), the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), or Visual Analog Scale (VAS) scores during the follow-up period of 24-96 months (p > 0.05).

This systematic review and meta-analysis showed that CSA correlates highly with rotator cuff retear after ARCR. In addition, the postoperative retear rate of the rotator cuff increased with increased CSA. CSA appeared to not affect worse functional outcomes in patients after ARCR.