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Mental health medication used after FAI surgery may hinder return to active-duty status
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A military population who underwent surgery for femoroacetabular impingement and took mental health medication showed high rates of medical discharge from the military and poorer postoperative outcomes, according to study results.
Researchers retrospectively reviewed 93 active-duty patients in the military who underwent femoracetabular impingement (FAI) surgery and compared the 37 patients who used mental health medication with the 56 control patients who did not use mental health medication. The mean follow-up was 3.6 years.
Data was collected from medical records and included demographics, status of duty, surgery performed and history of medication. The primary outcome measure used was a patients’ return to duty. Other outcome scores collected included Harris Hip, WOMAC, patient satisfaction and Veterans RAND-12 scores. The researchers used regression analysis to determine which variables and outcomes significantly predicted duty status.
Results showed 12 patients of the 37 patients who used mental health medication were medically discharged. The other 25 patients returned to full active duty or had a note added to their permanent profile. Five of the 56 control patients were medically discharged and 51 control patients returned to full active duty or had a note added to their permanent profile.
Patients who used the medication in question had significantly worse Harris Hip, WOMAC and Veterans Rand-12 mental scores vs control. Regression analysis results demonstrated antidepressants, antipsychotics and multiple mental health medications were predictors for medical discharge in the study. Furthermore, postoperative variance in duty status was most likely to be predicted by the Veterans RAND-12 mental scores. ‒ by Monica Jaramillo
Disclosures: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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