Shoulder Arthroplasty as a Day Case: Is It Better?

Introduction: A retrospective case-controlled study was performed to evaluate the outcomes of shoulder arthroplasty performed as a day case in carefully selected patients, compared to the traditional inpatient approach. Materials and Methods: Patients who had total or hemiarthroplasty of the shoulder performed as a day case or inpatient procedure were recruited. The primary outcome compared rates of uneventful recovery, defined by the absence of complications or readmission to the hospital within six months of surgery, between the inpatient and outpatient groups. Secondary outcomes included examiner-determined functional and patient-determined pain scores at one, six, twelve, and twenty-four weeks post-surgery. A further assessment of patient-determined pain scores was carried out at least two years post-surgery (5.8 ± 3.2). Results: 73 patients (36 inpatients and 37 outpatients) were included in the study. Within this time frame, 25/36 inpatients (69%) had uneventful recoveries compared to 24/37 outpatients (65%) (p = 0.17). Outpatients showed significant improvement over pre-operative baseline levels in more secondary outcomes (strength and passive range-of-motion) by six months post-operation. Outpatients also performed significantly better than inpatients in external rotation (p < 0.05) and internal rotation (p = 0.05) at six weeks post-surgery. Both groups showed significant improvement compared to pre-operative baselines in all patient-determined secondary outcomes except the activity level at work and sports. Inpatients, however, experienced less severe pain at rest at six weeks (p = 0.03), significantly less frequent pain at night (p = 0.03), and extreme pain (p = 0.04) at 24 weeks, and less severe pain at night at 24 weeks (p < 0.01). By a minimum of two years post-operation, inpatients were more comfortable repeating their treatment setting for future arthroplasty (16/18) compared to outpatients (7/22) (p = 0.0002). Conclusions: At a minimum of two years of follow-up, there were no significant differences in rates of complications, hospitalizations, or revision surgeries between patients that underwent shoulder arthroplasty as an inpatient versus an outpatient. Outpatients demonstrated superior functional outcomes but reported more pain at six months post-surgery. Patients in both groups preferred inpatient treatment for any future shoulder arthroplasty. What is Known About This Subject: Shoulder arthroplasty is a complex procedure and has traditionally been performed on an inpatient basis, with patients admitted for six to seven days post-surgery. One of the primary reasons for this is the high level of post-operative pain, usually treated with hospital-based opioid therapy. Two studies demonstrated outpatient TSA to have a similar rate of complications as inpatient TSA; however, these studies only examined patients within a shorter-term 90-day post-operative period and did not evaluate functional outcomes between the two groups or in the longer term. What This Study Adds to Existing Knowledge: This study provides evidence supporting the longer-term results of shoulder arthroplasty done as a day case in carefully selected patients, which are comparable to outcomes in patients that are admitted to the hospital post-surgery.