Background: National Basketball Association (NBA) players who return to sport (RTS) after Achilles tendon rupture have been reported to have poor outcomes. Purpose: To evaluate the effect of Achilles tendon ruptures on player performance and career longevity in NBA athletes. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: NBA players who sustained Achilles tendon ruptures between 1970 and 2019 were identified using publicly available resources and were matched 1:1 to a healthy control group by age, position, height, and body mass index. Demographic characteristics, player utilization (games and minutes), and performance efficiency rating (PER) were documented for all athletes. The season of Achilles tendon rupture was set as the index year, and statistical analysis compared postindex versus preindex data both acutely and in the long term. Percentages relative to preoperative values were calculated to compare the injured and control groups in a standardized fashion. Results: Of 47 players, 34 (72.3%) with Achilles tendon ruptures returned to play at the NBA level after surgical intervention. A total of 7 players were excluded from the study. No differences were found in demographic characteristics or PER (2 years before injury) between the remaining 27 players and matched controls. The injured players had significantly shorter careers compared with control players (3.1 ± 2.3 vs 5.8 ± 3.5 seasons, respectively; P < .05). Injured players demonstrated significant declines in games per season (GPS), minutes per game (MPG), and PER at 1 year and 3 years after RTS compared with preindex baseline ( P < .05). Injured players, compared with control players, had reduced relative percentages of games started (GS) (50% vs 125%, respectively), MPG (83% vs 103%), and PER (80% vs 96%) at 1 year after return ( P < .05), but reductions at extended 3-year follow-up were seen only in GPS (71% vs 91%) and GS (39% vs 99%) ( P < .05). Conclusion: Our study found that 72.3% of NBA players returned to play after Achilles tendon repair, but they had shorter careers compared with uninjured controls. Players returning from Achilles tendon repairs had decreased game utilization and performance at all time points relative to their individual preindex baseline. However, for the injured players when compared with controls, game utilization but not performance was found to be decreased at 3-year follow-up.

Purpose The primary purpose of this study was to compare the cost of care of one of the most common sports medicine surgical procedures, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR), using the time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) method to traditional accounting methods such as activity-based costing (ABC). Our secondary purpose was to identify the main drivers of the cost of ACLR using both of these techniques. Methods A process map of ACLR was constructed through direct observation in the clinical setting according to established techniques to identify drivers of fixed, direct variable, and indirect costs. An episode of care consisted of each step in the surgical process from admission to discharge. Personnel costs were combined with the process map to determine the cost drivers and overall cost of the procedure. The cost generated from the TDABC method was compared with the cost from our institution’s internal accounting system, which used an ABC method. Results The total cost of ACLR was $5,242.25 when using TDABC versus $10,318 when using the traditional ABC method. The largest difference between the 2 methods was within the domain of direct variable costs. Conclusions When compared with TDABC, the hospital’s traditional cost-accounting estimate for ACLR is nearly twice as costly. These findings highlight the variability of cost calculation for the same clinical episode between the 2 accounting methods. For the traditional accounting method, the direct variable cost was the main cost driver, whereas for the TDABC method, the direct fixed cost was the main cost driver. Clinical Relevance This study is important because it elucidates important cost drivers for one of the most common sports medicine orthopaedic surgical procedures and attempts to identify the true overall cost of the procedure.

Background: The Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) is a powerful set of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) that are gaining popularity throughout orthopaedic surgery. The use of both adult and pediatric PROMIS questionnaires in orthopaedic sports medicine limits the value of the PROMIS in routine sports medicine clinical care, research, and quality improvement. Because orthopaedic sports medicine surgeons see patients across a wide age range, simplifying the collection of PROMIS computer adaptive tests (CATs) to a single set of questionnaires, regardless of age, is of notable value. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose was to determine the strength of the correlation between the pediatric and adult PROMIS questionnaires. We hypothesized that there would be a high correlation between the adult and pediatric versions for each PROMIS domain, thereby justifying the use of only the adult version for most sports medicine providers, regardless of patient age. Study Design: Cohort study (Diagnosis); Level of evidence, 2. Methods: Between December 2018 and December 2019, all pediatric sports medicine patients presenting to a single, academic, orthopaedic sports medicine clinic were asked to participate in the present study with their parents’ consent. Patients were asked to complete a set of adult PROMIS domains (Physical Function and/or Upper Extremity, Pain Interference, and Depression) as well as a set of pediatric PROMIS domains (Mobility and/or Upper Extremity, Pain Interference, and Depressive Symptoms). Concurrent validity was assessed using Pearson correlation coefficients ( r). Ceiling and floor effects were determined. Results: A total of 188 patients met our inclusion criteria. The correlation between the adult and pediatric PROMIS Upper Extremity, Physical Function and Mobility, Pain Interference, and Depression and Depressive Symptoms forms were high-moderate ( r = 0.68; P < .01), high-moderate ( r = 0.69; P < .01), high ( r = 0.78; P < .01), and high ( r = 0.85; P < .01), respectively. Both adult and pediatric depression-related PROMIS domains demonstrated notable floor effects (adult: 38%; pediatric: 24%). The pediatric PROMIS Upper Extremity domain demonstrated a ceiling effect (20%). Conclusion: Adult PROMIS CATs may be used in an orthopaedic sports medicine clinic for both adult and pediatric patients. Our findings will help decrease the amount of resources needed for the implementation and use of PROMs for patient care, research, and quality improvement in orthopaedic sports medicine clinics.

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Background: Rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a common and potentially career-altering injury sustained by players in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Strategies have been employed by the league to prevent reinjury of players after ACL reconstruction (ACLR), including minute restrictions and rest games; however, it remains unknown whether workload metrics after ACLR influence the risk for reinjury and revision surgery. Purpose: To evaluate whether workload changes after return to play (RTP) from primary ACLR influences the risk of rerupture in NBA players. Study Design: Case-control study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: We identified NBA players from 1975 to 2018 who underwent primary ACLR as well as those who required revision ACLR. Primary outcomes included workload measures such as games played, games started, and minutes per game. Secondary outcomes included in-game performance statistics. Statistical analysis was used to compare relative workload and performance 3 years before and 3 years after undergoing primary ACLR. Workload was also compared between the control group of NBA players who underwent primary ACLR and those who required revision ACLR. Results: A total of 68 players who underwent primary ACLR were included, 8 of whom subsequently required revision ACLR. In their first season upon RTP, control players (primary ACLR) demonstrated a significant reduction in all workload metrics relative to the season before injury ( P < .001), while the revision group demonstrated an unchanged to increased workload. In a comparison between the primary and revision groups during the first season after RTP, the primary group demonstrated significantly fewer games started (mean ± SD, 22.2 ± 3.0 vs 35.8 ± 8.3; P = .039) and minutes per game (20.5 ± 1.1 vs 27.0 ± 3.1; P = .048) than revision players. The primary ACLR group demonstrated reduced cumulative workload trends for the first 3 years after RTP relative to 3 years before injury, which was not demonstrated in the revision ACLR group, albeit statistically insignificant. Conclusion: Our study found that after ACLR, a reduction in workload parameters relative to preinjury baseline was associated with players who did not sustain rerupture. Further study is required to determine if workload measures following RTP from primary ACLR should be individualized relative to preinjury baseline.