Declining incidence of acromioplasty in Finland. (4th March 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Paloneva, Juha; Lepola, Vesa; Karppinen, Jaro; Ylinen, Jari; Äärimaa, Ville; Mattila, Ville M
• Is Part Of: Acta orthopaedica. Volume 86:Number 2(2015)
• Page Start: 220
• Page End: 224
• Publication Date: 2015-03-04
• Subjects: Orthopedics -- Periodicals; 616.7005
• DOI: 10.3109/17453674.2014.977703
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1745-3674

Abstract

Abstract : Background and purpose — An increased incidence rate of acromioplasty has been reported; we analyzed data from the Finnish National Hospital Discharge Register. Patients and methods — During the 14-year study period (1998–2011), 68, 877 acromioplasties without rotator cuff repair were performed on subjects aged 18 years or older. Results — The incidence of acromioplasty increased by 117% from 75 to 163 per 10 5 person years between 1998 and 2007. The highest incidence was observed in 2007, after which the incidence rate decreased by 20% to 131 per 10 5 person years in 2011. The incidence declined even more at non-profit public hospitals from 2007 to 2011. In contrast, it continued to rise at profit-based private orthopedic clinics. Interpretation — We propose that this change in clinical practice is due to accumulating high-quality scientific evidence that shows no difference in outcome between acromioplasty and non-surgical interventions for rotator cuff disease with subacromial impingement syndrome. However, the exact cause of the declining incidence cannot be defined based solely on a registry study. Interestingly, this change was not observed at private clinics, where the number of operations increased steadily from 2007 to 2011.