Background and purpose
Proximal humerus fractures (PHF) may result in sequelae indicating
arthroplasty. We report cumulative survival rates and reasons for revision
after arthroplasty for proximal humerus fracture sequelae (PHFS).
Patients and methods
Data were derived from the Nordic Arthroplasty Register Association. The
Kaplan– Meier method was used to illustrate survival rates. A scaled
Schoenfeld residual plot was used to report the risk of revision for men
relative to women in patients who were treated with reverse shoulder
arthroplasty (RSA). Revision was defined as removal or exchange of any
component or the addition of a glenoid component.
Results
30,190 primary arthroplasties were reported from 2004 to 2016, of which 3,245
were for PHFS. The estimated 1-, 5-, and 10-year cumulative survival rates
(95% CI) were 96% (95–97), 90% (89–92), and 86% (83–88)
for stemmed hemiarthroplasty and 94% (92–95), 89% (87–91), and
86% (82–90) for RSA with a median time to revision of 18 months (IQR
9–44) and 3 months (IQR 0–17). The risk of revision for men
relative to women in patients who were treated with RSA was 3.2
(1.9–5.1) 0–1 year after surgery and 1.9 (0.9–4.1)
1–8 years after surgery. The estimated 1-, 5-, and 10-year cumulative
survival rates (95% CI) were 94% (92–96), 88% (85–90), and 80%
(75–86) for men and 95% (94–96), 86% (84–89), and 81%
(77–84) for young patients.
Interpretation
Shoulder arthroplasty for PHFS was associated with lower survival rates,
compared with previously published results of shoulder arthroplasty for
acute PHF. The low arthroplasty survival rates for men and young patients
especially are worrying.