Reverse Shoulder Arthroplasty: Evaluation of the Clinical and Functional Outcomes per Etiology

Objective  The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical outcomes of reverse shoulder arthroplasty to treat several conditions. Methods  Retrospective, longitudinal study analyzing the Constant and University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) scores and range of motion of patients undergoing reverse shoulder arthroplasty. Results  In total, 28 patients were analyzed, with a mean age of 75.6 years old. The mean duration of follow-up was 45 months. Overall, there was a significant variation ( p  < 0.0001) between the preoperative (10.2 points) and the postoperative UCLA scores (29.6 points), corresponding to a relative increase of approximately 200%. In addition, the mean Constant score was 67.8, and the complication rate was 17.8%. As for functional outcomes per etiology, fracture sequelae cases presented the best mean elevation (165°), Constant score (79 points), postoperative UCLA score (32.5 points), and absolute delta UCLA score increase (22 points), but with no statistical significance. However, cases operated for fracture sequelae showed significantly higher elevation ( p  = 0.027) and Constant score ( p  = 0.047) compared to rotator cuff arthropathy cases. In addition, the lowest mean postoperative Constant and UCLA scores were observed for the following etiologies: primary arthrosis, acute fracture, and arthroplasty revision. Conclusion  Reverse shoulder arthroplasty showed satisfactory functional outcomes and may be a treatment option not only for rotator cuff arthropathy but for several other conditions.