Patients Lost to Follow-up in Shoulder Arthroplasty: Descriptive Characteristics and Reasons
Carlos Torrens, Raquel Martínez, Fernando Santana
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the number of patients lost to follow-up yearly in shoulder arthroplasty and investigate the characteristics of the patients lost to follow-up that may differ from those not lost to follow-up. METHODS: All shoulder arthroplasties performed from January 2008 to December 2014 were retrospectively reviewed. The number of patients lost to follow-up was determined yearly. Independent variables included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), diagnosis, type of prostheses, living condition, smoking, alcohol intake, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score, in-hospital length, surgery length, living area, preoperative Constant score, last Constant score available, and complications. Number of deaths was recorded. RESULTS: = 0.12). CONCLUSIONS: The longer the follow-up in shoulder arthroplasty, the greater the number of patients lost to follow-up, reaching 34.3% by the seventh year. Patients lost to follow-up were not random in shoulder arthroplasty: older patients, severely obese patients, and those with higher ASA scores were at higher risk of being lost to follow-up, but reasons for being lost to follow-up changed through time and depending on when they were assessed.