Mortality After Shoulder Arthroplasty

One year post-operative mortality among patients with primary elective total shoulder arthroplasty (ETSA) and traumatic shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) were compared to the general population of a large healthcare system. Standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. 614 ETSA patients, 1.0% one year mortality, and 168 TSA patients, 5.4% mortality rate, were evaluated. Patients with ETSA (SMR = 0.4, 95% CI 0.1–0.7) had lower odds of mortality than expected, while patients with TSA (SMR = 1.8, 95% CI 0.6–3.0) did not have higher than expected odds of mortality compared to the reference population. Understanding excess mortality following shoulder arthroplasty surgery allows providers to evaluate current practices and identify ways to optimize patients prior to surgery.