Study: No consistent method for measuring patient satisfaction after shoulder arthroplasty
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Although patient satisfaction is high, an analysis of the literature measuring satisfaction after total shoulder arthroplasty revealed inconsistencies in assessment methods, according to published results.
In January 2018, Richard N. Puzzitiello, MD, and colleagues conducted a systematic review of 47 studies that assessed patient satisfaction after anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) using the MEDLINE database. They evaluated each study for quality, reported satisfaction rate and satisfaction assessment method.
According to the study, 85.1% of the available literature (n = 40) clearly stated the assessment method. An ordinal scale was the most commonly used method and was found in 57.4% of studies (n = 27). An outcome tool such as the University of California Los Angeles score (4.2%), Penn Shoulder score (2.1%) or modified Neer questionnaire (17%) was used in 23.4% of studies (n = 11). A VAS of 0 to 10 was used in 14.9% of the studies (n = 7). Investigators found 4.3% of studies (n = 2) assessed satisfaction by asking the patient, “Would you have the surgery again?”
Puzzitiello and colleagues found high patient-reported outcome scores on the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons, simple shoulder test, subjective shoulder value, SF-36 mental component and VAS pain scales were associated with high levels of postoperative satisfaction. Older age, workers’ compensation, depression and preoperative opioid use were associated with low levels of postoperative satisfaction, according to the study.
Additionally, they found 57.5% of the available literature differentiated between satisfaction with outcomes and satisfaction with care.
“Overall, patient satisfaction is high; however, there is no standardized method of measurement,” Puzzitiello and colleagues wrote in the study. “As orthopedic surgeons are increasingly asked to demonstrate the value of procedures, a uniform and validated method of assessing patient satisfaction is needed,” they added.
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