Effect of Handedness on Patient-Reported Outcomes After Operative Treatment of CMC Arthritis

Background: The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between hand dominance and patient-reported outcomes (PROs) after operative treatment for carpometacarpal (CMC) arthritis. We hypothesized that hand dominance is not correlated with PROs. Methods: All patients who underwent primary operative treatment for end-stage CMC arthritis at a single healthcare system between April 2018 and December 2022 were eligible for this study. Our exclusion criteria included concomitant procedures, revision operations, and patients without PROs at baseline or any postoperative timepoint. Retrospective review of each patient's chart for demographics, surgical characteristics, and PROs was conducted. Results: A total of 174 patients were included in this study; of those, 123 (70.7%) were women and 88 (50.6%) had operations on their dominant hand. There was no difference in age, tourniquet time, surgical procedure, primary surgeon, type of anesthetic, or sex distribution between the 2 cohorts. There were no significant differences in baseline patient-rated wrist/hand evaluation (PRWHE) or single assessment numeric evaluation (SANE) between the 2 cohorts. The average 6-month change in PRWHE was -44.5 ± 22.6 for those with operations on their dominant hand versus -43.8 ± 23.4 for the cohort that received operations on their nondominant hand (P = .854). Average change in SANE score did not differ significantly between groups, with dominant-operative patients averaging an increase of 37.5 ± 30.6 versus 33.1 ± 32.9 in their nondominant-operative counterparts. Conclusions: This study reveals no significant difference in PROs at any time point between patients who received CMC arthroplasty on their dominant versus nondominant hand. Surgeons should counsel patients to expect similar outcomes regardless of hand dominance after operation.