The impact of tobacco use on clinical outcomes and long-term survivorship after anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty

Introduction: Postoperative outcomes following total shoulder arthroplasty can be affected by preoperative health factors such as tobacco usage.Methods: The charts of patients who underwent anatomic total shoulder arthroplasty were retrospectively analyzed and stratified based on smoking status. The primary data included range of motion and patient reported outcomes. Additionally, demographic, radiographic, and survivorship analyses were conducted. All data were analyzed using statistical inference.Results: There were 78, 49, and 16 non-smoker, former smoker, and current smoker shoulders respectively with no significant differences in sex, American Society of Anesthesiologists status, body mass index, or mean follow-up time (average: 10.7 yrs). Smokers (51.5 +/- 10.4 years) were younger than both non-smokers (64.9 +/- 8.1 years; p < 0.01) and former smokers (65.1 +/- 9.1years; p < 0.01) at the time of surgery. For non-smokers and former smokers, all range of motion and patient reported outcome scores significantly improved. Smokers reported significant improvements in all patient reported outcomes and external and internal rotation. Visual Analog Scale, American Shoulder and Elbow, and Simple Shoulder Test scores were lower for smokers comparatively, but these differences did not reach significance. Forward elevation was higher postoperatively for non-smokers (149.7o +/- 17.2o) and former smokers (147.1o +/- 26.0o) compared to current smokers (130.9o +/- 41.2o; p = 0.017). No differences between the cohorts were found in the radiographic analysis. Revision rates were lower in the non-smoking cohort (7.7%) compared to both former (20.4%; p = 0.036) and current smokers (37.5%; p < 0.01). Survival curves showed that non-smoker implants lasted longer than those of current smokers. Conclusion: After a decade, patients generally had improved shoulder range of motion, functionality, and pain regardless of smoking status. However, current smokers required shoulder replacements sooner and revision surgery more frequently.