Rotator cuff injury in the pediatric population: a systematic review of patient characteristics, treatment, and outcomes

Background: Rotator cuff injuries (RCIs), traditionally thought to be an adult-type pathology, have been reported in the pediatric population, but there remains limited evidence regarding this injury pattern in pediatric patients. The purpose of this study was to systematically review the literature to characterize the epidemiology, injury patterns, treatment modalities, and outcomes for pediatric patients with RCIs. Methods: A systematic review was performed in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines reviewing Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane, and CINAHL databases. Studies reporting imaging confirmed RCIs and treatment outcomes in patientsdemographics, mechanism, injury type and injury location were recorded. Treatment type and patient outcomes were abstracted when available and summarized with descriptive statistics. Results: Our search identified 28 studies published from 1994-2020 which included 215 total tendons injured in 185 patients. Twenty-six studies were classified as Level IV evidence while only two were Level III. When described, the most injured tendon (n=184) was the supraspinatus while the most described injury type (n=215) was a partial tear. Surgical intervention was pursued in 75.8% of injuries, with arthroscopy being more common than open repair (79.4% vs. 20.6%). Nonoperative treatment was primarily utilized for partial tears. Among the 24 studies reporting on return to sports, nonoperatively managed patients returned later than those treated operatively (mean: 10.7 vs. 7 months). Only 8 studies included Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) and just 5 had pre- and post-treatment scores. Three complications were noted, all in operative patients. Conclusion: RCIs in pediatric patients have been reported in the literature with increasing frequency over the last decade, but the quality of evidence remains poor with inconsistent injury descriptions and outcome reporting. Excellent results were seen for all injury types and locations with both operative and nonoperative treatments. The literature for pediatric RCIs remains limited in guiding management decisions indicating a need for more high-quality studies to compare outcomes across injury and treatment type

BHPR research: qualitative1. Complex reasoning determines patients' perception of outcome following foot surgery in rheumatoid arhtritis

Background: Foot surgery is common in patients with RA but research into surgical outcomes is limited and conceptually flawed as current outcome measures lack face validity: to date no one has asked patients what is important to them. This study aimed to determine which factors are important to patients when evaluating the success of foot surgery in RA Methods: Semi structured interviews of RA patients who had undergone foot surgery were conducted and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis of interviews was conducted to explore issues that were important to patients. Results: 11 RA patients (9 ♂, mean age 59, dis dur = 22yrs, mean of 3 yrs post op) with mixed experiences of foot surgery were interviewed. Patients interpreted outcome in respect to a multitude of factors, frequently positive change in one aspect contrasted with negative opinions about another. Overall, four major themes emerged. Function: Functional ability & participation in valued activities were very important to patients. Walking ability was a key concern but patients interpreted levels of activity in light of other aspects of their disease, reflecting on change in functional ability more than overall level. Positive feelings of improved mobility were often moderated by negative self perception ("I mean, I still walk like a waddling duck”). Appearance: Appearance was important to almost all patients but perhaps the most complex theme of all. Physical appearance, foot shape, and footwear were closely interlinked, yet patients saw these as distinct separate concepts. Patients need to legitimize these feelings was clear and they frequently entered into a defensive repertoire ("it's not cosmetic surgery; it's something that's more important than that, you know?”). Clinician opinion: Surgeons' post operative evaluation of the procedure was very influential. The impact of this appraisal continued to affect patients' lasting impression irrespective of how the outcome compared to their initial goals ("when he'd done it ... he said that hasn't worked as good as he'd wanted to ... but the pain has gone”). Pain: Whilst pain was important to almost all patients, it appeared to be less important than the other themes. Pain was predominately raised when it influenced other themes, such as function; many still felt the need to legitimize their foot pain in order for health professionals to take it seriously ("in the end I went to my GP because it had happened a few times and I went to an orthopaedic surgeon who was quite dismissive of it, it was like what are you complaining about”). Conclusions: Patients interpret the outcome of foot surgery using a multitude of interrelated factors, particularly functional ability, appearance and surgeons' appraisal of the procedure. While pain was often noted, this appeared less important than other factors in the overall outcome of the surgery. Future research into foot surgery should incorporate the complexity of how patients determine their outcome Disclosure statement: All authors have declared no conflicts of interes

The effect of critical shoulder angle on functional compensation in the setting of cuff tear arthropathy.

Introduction: Critical shoulder angle (CSA) has been shown to influence rates of rotator cuff tears and glenohumeral arthritis with a larger CSA associated with rotator cuff tears and a smaller CSA associated with glenohumeral arthritis. There has been no study to determine whether such radiographic measurement influences the function of patients with demonstrated cuff tear arthropathy (CTA). The purpose of this study was to examine whether smaller CSAs were associated with greater range of motion (ROM) in patients diagnosed with CTA. Materials and methods: Ninety-three patients with a diagnosis of CTA with adequate anteroposterior shoulder radiographs were included in the study. Patient demographics were recorded. The presence of a rotator cuff tear was confirmed via advanced imaging or when applicable via the operative report. Patients\u27 ROM was evaluated through the physician\u27s office note. Shoulder radiographs were used to measure CSA, glenoid inclination, acromial index (AI), and acromiohumeral interval. Patient ROM was measured and grouped into 2 different tiered cohorts: cohort 1 had 4 subgroups of forward elevation (FE) (ie, ≤45°, 45°-90°, 91°-135°, and 136°-180°) and cohort 2 had 2 subgroups of FE (ie, ≤90° and \u3e90°). We then analyzed FE between these groups in the context of their radiographic measurements. Results: The average patient age was 73.8 ± 8.0 years. There was no significant difference in acromiohumeral interval. AI was found to be significantly different between patients presenting with ≤90° in FE compared with those \u3e90° (P = .02). Average CSA was significantly lower in patients with FE greater than 90° at 33.7° ± 3.9° compared with patients with FE less than 90° at 37.1° ± 6.3° (P = .002). There was also a significant difference with regard to CSAs, with those patients with FE ≤ 45° having a mean CSA of 38.2° ± 8.3° compared with those patients with FE ≥ 135° having a mean CSA of 33.3° ± 4.3° (P = .02). Conclusion: Patients diagnosed with CTA can significantly vary in their shoulder function and ability to forward elevate. Lower CSA was found to be associated with higher FE in patients with CTA preoperatively. In addition, patients with a smaller AI were also found to have better overhead function. Analyzing CSA on plain radiographs may help manage functional expectations in patients with CTA

Long-term Correction in Sleep Disturbance Is Sustained After Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair.

BACKGROUND: Sleep disturbance is a major complaint of patients with rotator cuff disease that often leads them to seek treatment. The authors previously reported a prospective analysis of patients who underwent rotator cuff repair and found that sleep disturbance significantly improved at 3 months after surgery. That improvement in sleep was maintained at 6 months. HYPOTHESIS: In the current study, the authors sought to gain medium-term data on this same population at greater than 2 years. The hypotheses were that improvement in sleep disturbance after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair is maintained at 2-year follow-up and that the continued use of narcotic pain medication has a negative effect on sleep quality at 2-year follow-up. STUDY DESIGN: Case series; Level of evidence, 4. METHODS: The original cohort of patients was contacted at a minimum of 24 months after their surgery. Thirty-seven of the 56 patients (66%) involved in the original study were available. Patient outcomes were scored using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Simple Shoulder Test (SST), visual analog scale (VAS) for pain, and Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE). The newly obtained scores were compared with prior scores, which ranged from preoperatively to 6 months postoperatively. RESULTS: The statistically significant improvement of the PSQI score demonstrated in our prior analysis at 6 months postoperatively was maintained, with a mean PSQI score of 5.5 for the 37 patients followed beyond 24 months. Of those patients, 41% still had a PSQI score \u3e5, indicative of sleep disturbance. However, even those patients in our study with a PSQI score \u3e5, indicative of sleep disturbance, had an improved mean score of 9.3 at greater than 24 months compared with those patients with a PSQI score \u3e5 at 6 months, who had a mean PSQI score of 11.5 ( P = .13). Both the SST and VAS scores displayed continued improvement at greater than 24 months, with both displaying moderate strength correlation to the PSQI score (VAS: Spearman rho = 0.479, P \u3c .001; SST: Spearman rho = -0.505, P \u3c .001). Regression models again demonstrated the continued use of narcotic pain medication correlating with poor sleep as the difference in the mean PSQI score between users and nonusers increased as postoperative time increased. At greater than 24 months after surgery, patients using narcotics had a mean PSQI score that was 7.4 points higher than narcotic nonusers (standard error [SE] = 1.93; P = .00017). CONCLUSION: At greater than 24 months, 41% of patients still demonstrated sleep disturbance, with both SST and VAS scores showing improvement. The prolonged use of narcotic medication negatively affects sleep, with a greater effect seen over time

Rotator Cuff Injuries in the Pediatric Population: A Retrospective Review of Patient Characteristics and Treatment at a Single Center

BACKGROUND: As youth participation in contact and overhead sports has increased in recent decades, so has the occurrence of injuries of the shoulder. Rotator cuff injury (RCI) is an infrequent shoulder pathology in pediatric patients and its description in the literature has been scarce. A greater understanding of RCI characteristics and treatment outcomes in children and adolescents would improve our understanding of this pathology and help to better guide clinical decision-making. HYPOTHESIS: To identify pediatric patients with magnetic resonance imaging-confirmed RCI treated at a single center to summarize injury characteristics, treatment, and outcomes. It was hypothesized that injuries would occur predominantly in overhead throwing athletes and would demonstrate good outcomes among both operatively and nonoperatively treated patients. STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4. METHODS: A retrospective review of pediatric patients (old) diagnosed with and treated for an RCI between January 1, 2011 and January 31, 2021. Patient demographics, injury mechanism and type, treatment, and outcomes were collected. Descriptive statistics were performed. Bivariate testing was used to compare operatively and nonoperatively treated cohorts. RESULTS: A total of 52 pediatric patients treated for a rotator cuff avulsion, partial tear, or complete tear were identified. Mean age was 15 years and 67% of patients were male. Injuries were related most commonly to participation in throwing sports. Operative management occurred in 23% of patients, while 77% were managed nonoperatively. Treatment cohorts differed based on tear type, with all complete tears being managed operatively ( CONCLUSION: The present study expands the limited data available regarding RCIs in pediatric patients. Most injuries are associated with sports and involve the supraspinatus tendon. RCIs were associated with good outcomes and low rates of reinjury in patients managed both nonoperative and operatively. RCI should be considered in throwing athletes with shoulder pain, even in skeletally immature patients. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This retrospective study fills the hole in the literature by detailing the patterns associated with RCI characteristics and treatment outcomes. In contrast to studies of adult RCIs, our results suggest that outcomes are good regardless of treatment type