Patients with chronic kidney disease can expect significant improvement in pain and function after shoulder arthroplasty

Background

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with negative outcomes after hip and knee arthroplasty due to higher rates of infection, aseptic loosening, and transfusion. The purpose of this study was to compare clinical outcome scores and complication rate after shoulder arthroplasty (SA) for patients with and without CKD.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of prospectively collected data and reviewed all patients who underwent primary SA from January 2015 to December 2019 by one surgeon at one institution. Revision arthroplasty patients were excluded. We evaluated results from patients with CKD (glomerular filtration rate [GFR] $\le$ 59) and without CKD (GFR $\ge$ 60). Outcome measures including visual analog scale for pain, American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, the Simple Shoulder Test (SST), and Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE) scores were compared between cohorts. Minimum clinically important difference (MCID) and substantial clinical benefit also were determined for this cohort. Univariate and multivariable regression was performed to assess the influence of CKD on outcome measures and risk of complications.

Results

518 patients met inclusion criteria; 4 patients did not have recorded GFR, leaving 514 patients for analysis. 389 patients had normal GFR; 125 had CKD. Patients with CKD had lower overall preoperative and postoperative ASES, SST, and SANE scores but demonstrated similar levels of clinical improvement from preoperative to postoperative time points (Δ ASES 41.4 ± 21.8 vs. 42.9 ± 21.4, P = .55), (Δ SST 4.8 ± 3.4 vs. 4.9 ± 3.3, P = .08), (Δ SANE 40.7 ± 29.1 vs. 42.4 ± 26.5, P = .77). Both cohorts achieved MCID for ASES, SST, and SANE scores. Univariately, patients with CKD were at high risk to require transfusion (OR 16.2 (1.9, 139.7), P = .01) despite similar intraoperative estimated blood loss (156.9 ± 132.5mL vs. 153.8 ± 89.7mL, P = .77). CKD patients also were at higher risk for intraoperative fracture (OR 5.4 (1.3, 23.0), P = .02). CKD patients were not at higher risk for prosthetic joint infection (OR 3.2 (0.2, 50.8), P = .42), medical complications (OR 0.9 (0.2, 4.4), P = .89), or revision (OR 1.9 (0.7, 4.9), P = .19) in this cohort. Multivariable analysis of any complication after SA demonstrated that renal disease was not an independent risk factor for overall complication risk in this cohort (OR 1.1 (0.7, 1.8) P = .650).

Conclusion

Surgeons can be assured that patients who have CKD achieve similar gains in clinical outcomes as other patients. Despite experiencing a higher risk for transfusion and intraoperative fracture, renal disease was not an independent risk factor for complications after SA in this small cohort.