Study design: Retrospective analysis of outcomes in cervical spine and shoulder arthroscopy patients.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess differential improvements in health-related quality of life for cervical spine surgery compared with shoulder surgery.

Summary of background data: An understanding of outcome differences between different types of orthopedic surgeries is helpful in counseling patients about expected postoperative recovery. This study compares outcomes in patients undergoing cervical spine surgery with arthroscopic shoulder surgery using computer-adaptive Patient-reported Outcome Information System scores.

Materials and methods: Patients undergoing cervical spine surgery (1-level or 2-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion, cervical disc replacement) or arthroscopic shoulder surgery (rotator cuff repair±biceps tenodesis) were grouped. Patient-reported Outcome Information System scores of physical function, pain interference, and pain intensity at baseline and at 3, 6, and 12 months were compared using paired t tests.

Results: Cervical spine (n=127) and shoulder (n=91) groups were similar in sex (25.8% vs. 41.8% female, P =0.731) but differed in age (51.6±11.6 vs. 58.60±11.2, P <0.05), operative time (148.3±68.6 vs. 75.9±26.9 min, P <0.05), American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASAs) (2.3±0.6 vs. 2.0±0.5, P =0.001), smoking status (15.7% vs. 4.4%, P =0.008), and length of stay (1.1±1.0 vs. 0.3±0.1, P =0.000). Spine patients had worse physical function (36.9 ±12.6 vs. 49.4±8.6, P <0.05) and greater pain interference (67.0±13.6 vs. 61.7±4.8, P =0.001) at baseline. Significant improvements were seen in all domains by 3 months for both groups, except for physical function after shoulder surgery. Spine patients had greater physical function improvements at all timepoints (3.33 vs. -0.43, P =0.003; 4.81 vs. 0.08, P =0.001; 6.5 vs. -5.24, P =<0.05). Conversely, shoulder surgery patients showed better 6-month improvement in pain intensity over spine patients (-8.86 vs. -4.46, P =0.001), but this difference resolved by 12 months.

Conclusions: Cervical spine patients had greater relative early improvement in physical function compared with shoulder patients, whereas pain interference and intensity did not significantly differ between the 2 groups after surgery. This will help in counseling patients about relative difference in recovery and improvement between the 2 surgery types.

Level of evidence: III.