Effect of Duration of Symptoms on the outcome of Arthroscopic shoulder procedures-Is it a predicting factor?

Authors: A Desai, P Prasad, J Westall, L Funk

References: Journal of Arthroscopy and Joint Surgery, 2014

Purpose:
To assess the effect of duration of symptoms, age and sex of the patients in predicting the outcome of surgery in arthroscopic sub-acromial decompression.

Type of study:
Prospective study- Case series.

Materials & Methods:
Fifty-one patients who underwent arthroscopic subacromial decompression procedure were followed up after surgery to assess the effect of duration of symptoms, age and sex on the outcome. Recovery period was assessed and reviewed for any effect of the predisposing factors.

Results:
The duration of symptoms did not differ among different age groups and in either sex. The average duration of symptoms in either sex group was nearly equal. The average recovery time was 113 days for men and 125 days for women respectively. Statistically significant correlation was not found among either sex or in different age group in terms of recovery period and the length of symptoms prior to surgery.

Conclusion:
This study has identified certain predictive factors such as age, gender and duration of symptoms prior to surgery which do not have any statistically significant impact on the length of recovery and outcome from shoulder surgery.