Judicious use of corticosteroid injections prior to shoulder arthroplasty does not compromise outcomes at a minimum of 2 years following surgery

Abstract

BackgroundThe use of total shoulder arthroplasty is continuing to rise with its expanding indications. For patients with chronic conditions, such as glenohumeral arthritis and rotator cuff arthropathy, nonoperative treatment is typically done prior to arthroplasty and often includes corticosteroid injections. Recent studies in the shoulder arthroplasty literature as well as applied from the hip and knee literature have focused on the risk of periprosthetic infection. Literature is lacking as to whether the judicious use of corticosteroids in the year prior to arthroplasty influences patient reported outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine if preoperative corticosteroid injections prior to shoulder arthroplasty affected two-year patient-reported outcomes. MethodsRetrospective review of anatomic and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty patients (n=230) was performed at a single institution including multiple surgeons. Patients were included if they had preoperative and a minimum of 2-year postoperative patient reported outcomes, including: ASES, VAS, SANE, VR12-PCS, and VR12-MCS. Patients were included in the injection group if they had received an injection, either glenohumeral or subacromial, within twelve months prior to arthroplasty (inject=134). Subgroup analysis included anatomic (TSA=92) and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty (RSA=138) as well as those with no injection within 12 months prior to surgery. An ANOVA was used to compare outcomes between patients who received an injection and those who did not prior to TSA and RSA. ResultsThere were 230 patients included with 134 patients in the injection group and 96 in the no injection group. Patients who received an injection in the year prior to arthroplasty displayed a significantly higher ASES [82 (16.23SD) vs. 76 (19.43SD), p < .01] and SANE [70 (24.49SD) vs. 63 (29.22SD), p < .01] scores versus those who had not received injection. There was no difference when comparing preoperative injection versus no injection in patients undergoing TSA. Those patients undergoing RSA displayed significantly higher ASES scores (p<.01). There were no significant differences in VAS, VR12-PCS, and VR12-MCS among any analysis (P>0.05), and the MCID in ASES was not different between groups (p.09). ConclusionCorticosteroid injections within twelve months prior to anatomic and reverse total shoulder arthroplasty do not compromise patient reported outcomes during a minimum of two-year follow-up. Although more complications occurred in the injection group, it did not reach statistical significance and warrants further study in a larger population.