Trends in outpatient shoulder arthroplasty during the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) era: increased proportion of outpatient cases with decrease in 90-day readmissions

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has placed an increased burden on health care resources, with hospitals around the globe canceling or reducing most elective surgical cases during the initial period of the pandemic. Simultaneously, there has been an increased interest in performing outpatient total joint arthroplasty in an efficient manner while maintaining patient safety. The purpose of this study was to investigate trends in total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) during the COVID-19 era with respect to outpatient surgery and postoperative complications. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective chart review of all primary anatomic and reverse TSAs performed at our health institution over a 3-year period (January 2018 to January 2021). All cases performed prior to March 2020 were considered the “pre–COVID-19 era” cohort. All cases performed in March 2020 or later comprised the “COVID-19 era” cohort. Patient demographic characteristics and medical comorbidities were also collected to appropriately match patients from the 2 cohorts. Outcomes measured included type of patient encounter (outpatient vs. inpatient), total length of stay, and 90-day complications. RESULTS: A total of 567 TSAs met the inclusion criteria, consisting of 270 shoulder arthroplasty cases performed during the COVID-19 era and 297 cases performed during the pre–COVID-19 era. There were no significant differences in body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, smoking status, or distribution of pertinent medical comorbidities between the 2 examined cohorts. During the COVID-19 era, 31.8% of shoulder arthroplasties were performed in an outpatient setting. This was significantly higher than the percentage in the pre–COVID-19 era, with only 4.5% of cases performed in an outpatient setting (P < .0001). The average length of stay was significantly reduced in the COVID-19 era cohort (0.81 days vs. 1.45 days, P < .0001). There was a significant decrease in 90-day readmissions during the COVID-19 era. No significant difference in 90-day emergency department visits, 90-day venous thromboembolism events, or 90-day postoperative infections was observed between the 2 cohorts. CONCLUSION: We found a significant increase in the number of outpatient shoulder arthroplasty cases being performed at our health institution during the COVID-19 era, likely owing to a multitude of factors including improved perioperative patient management and increased hospital burden from the COVID-19 pandemic. This increase in outpatient cases was associated with a significant reduction in average hospital length of stay and a significant decrease in 90-day readmissions compared with the pre–COVID-19 era. The study data suggest that outpatient TSA can be performed in a safe and efficient manner in the appropriate patient cohort.