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Medicare Spending and Evidence-Based Approach in Surgical Treatment of Thumb Carpometacarpal Joint Arthritis: 2001 to 2010.

ABSTRACT: Despite equivalent outcomes among surgical treatments of thumb carpometacarpal arthritis, little is known about the variation in spending. Because of its complexities, the authors hypothesized that trapeziectomy with ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition incurs the greatest cost to Medicare compared with other surgical procedures.Using a random 5 percent sample of Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with thumb carpometacarpal joint arthritis, the authors examined total and out-of-pocket spending for 3530 patients who underwent a surgical treatment between 2001 and 2010. The authors used generalized linear regression models, controlling for patient characteristics and place of surgery, to examine variations in spending.Eighty-nine percent of patients who underwent surgery received trapeziectomy with ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition, with total and out-of-pocket spending of $2576 (95 percent CI, $2333 to $2843; p < 0.001) and $436 (95 percent CI, $429 to $531; p < 0.001), respectively. Simple complete trapeziectomy was the least expensive procedure, performed in 5 percent of patients, with total and out-of-pocket spending of $1268 (95 percent CI, $1089 to $1476; p < 0.001) and $236 (95 percent CI, $180 to $258; p < 0.001), respectively. Because of increasingly higher facility costs, performing the same procedure in a hospital outpatient setting compared with an ambulatory center would increase Medicare spending by more than two-fold (p < 0.001).With a consistent rise in health care spending, adherence to an evidence-based approach in medicine is more important than ever. Most surgeons continue to perform trapeziectomy with ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition, the most expensive surgical option. Medicare could potentially save $7.4 million annually if simple complete trapeziectomy was the procedure of choice.

SUBMITTER: Mahmoudi E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5060089 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Medicare Spending and Evidence-Based Approach in Surgical Treatment of Thumb Carpometacarpal Joint Arthritis: 2001 to 2010.

Mahmoudi Elham E Yuan Frank F Lark Meghan E ME Aliu Oluseyi O Chung Kevin C KC

Plastic and reconstructive surgery 20160601 6

<h4>Background</h4>Despite equivalent outcomes among surgical treatments of thumb carpometacarpal arthritis, little is known about the variation in spending. Because of its complexities, the authors hypothesized that trapeziectomy with ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition incurs the greatest cost to Medicare compared with other surgical procedures.<h4>Methods</h4>Using a random 5 percent sample of Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with thumb carpometacarpal joint arthritis, the author ...[more]

PMID: 27219267

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Project description:There are numerous techniques for the surgical management of thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint arthritis. The four senior authors of this study employ three such techniques: trapeziectomy with hematoma distraction arthroplasty, hemitrapeziectomy with osteochondral allograft, and ligament reconstruction tendon interposition (LRTI). This study examines the three commonly utilized procedures at a single institution. This study examines the 10-year experience from 1995-2005 with a minimum 3-month follow-up. Disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand (DASH) scores, pre-and postoperative pinch strength, and operative time were examined. After approval from the institutional review board of our institution was obtained, all patients treated surgically by three of the senior authors were contacted via mail and phone. Each patient was asked to complete and return a DASH questionnaire. Of the 115 patients treated during that period, 60 participated in this study. Each patient's final postoperative pinch measurement was obtained from occupational therapy and clinic records. This pinch strength was compared to the preoperative pinch and contralateral pinch strength. Lastly, the total operative time for each procedure was obtained from the operative record. The only significant finding in this study was a shorter mean operative time with the trapeziectomy group (76.90 min) and osteochondral allograft group (90.45 min) when compared to the LRTI group (139.00 min; p = 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). We found no significant difference between groups in terms of DASH score and pinch strength. There was no difference between the techniques in terms of postoperative pinch strength and patient satisfaction measured by DASH scores. The operative times for trapeziectomy and hematoma interposition as well as the osteochondral allograft were significantly shorter than that of the LRTI. This presents further evidence that potentially, "less is more" in the treatment of thumb CMC arthritis. We used a retrospective study design to evaluate potential differences between the three surgical techniques described above, therapeutic, levels III-IV.

Project description:Objective Contradictory reported arthritic patterns of the metacarpal surface of the trapezium include preferential volar wear, radial wear, and dorsal-ulnar sparing. We investigated whether a predominant wear pattern exists in surgical trapeziectomy for advanced thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) arthritis. Methods We examined 36 intact trapezia from 34 thumb CMC arthroplasty patients over an 18-month period. The first metacarpal articular surface revealed three consistent morphology patterns: (1) saddle, (2) dish, and (3) cirque. The saddle represented cartilage loss with preservation of the normal trapezial morphology. The dish shape represented concave curvature, with loss of the normal saddle configuration. The cirque shape represented preferential volar concave wear, disrupting the convex volardorsal arc. Two surgeons classified the randomized specimens twice, blinded to patient identity and each other's categorization. Radiographic Eaton staging was correlated retrospectively for 35 of 36 of the trapezial specimens. Eight specimens were further quantified with micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). Results Thirty-six trapezia were classified as follows: 17 (47%) saddle, 12 (33%) dish, and 7 (19%) cirque. Intra-rater reliability was 0.97 and 0.95; inter-rater reliability in the second round was 0.95. The 36 trapezia represented 27 female (75%) and 9 male (25%) patients; 18 (50%) represented the dominant hand. Age at surgery averaged 64 (33-76). Complete cartilage loss of the entire metacarpal surface was seen in 15 (42%) of all specimens. Osteophyte presence was typically minimal in the saddle group; the dish group had characteristic extensive rimming osteophytes in a 91% female population (11/12), and the cirque group had volar osteophytes. Radiographic severity ranged from Eaton stage II to IV; less severe radiographic staging (Eaton II) predominated in the saddle configuration; advanced Eaton III-IV disease predominated in both cirque and dish shapes. Micro-CT verified the three discrete shapes with volardorsal and radioulnar orientation measurements. Conclusion The metacarpal surface of the trapezium demonstrates three distinct patterns of wear in arthritic surgical specimens. Sex, dominance, age distribution, and Eaton stage varied across the different shapes. Level of Evidence Level 3 Study Type Observational.

Project description:PurposeThe objective was to measure the intraoperative load tolerance of the thumb carpometacarpal (CMC) joint after trapeziectomy, tendon suspension, and interposition.MethodsIn this single-center prospective study, preoperative pinch grip, thumb mobility, and hypermobility of the thumb CMC joint were determined by 2 hand surgeons. Patients completed the brief Michigan Hand Outcomes Questionnaire. During surgery and upon removal of the trapezium, the surgeon subjectively rated the degree of thumb CMC load tolerance as "stable," "medium stable," or "unstable." A measurement system with an integrated force sensor was used to measure intraoperative thumb CMC load tolerance. The thumb ray was displaced manually by 10 mm toward the scaphoid, and the counteracting force was measured over the entire displacement. The objective load tolerance was determined as the maximal measured force after trapezium resection, tendon suspension, and interposition. Analysis of variance was used to test for the differences in load tolerance between the surgical steps. Spearman's coefficient was used to find correlations between load tolerance and clinical or patient-reported variables.ResultsTwenty-nine patients with a mean age of 70 years (SD, 8.1 years) were available for analysis. The measured intraoperative load tolerance after trapeziectomy was 15.5 N (SD, 5.4 N) and significantly increased to 18.7 N (SD, 5.5 N) after suspension. Load tolerance only slightly increased after tendon interposition, increasing the force to 20.3 N (SD, 6.7 N). Neither the surgeon's subjective stability rating nor the clinical or patient-reported variables correlated with the measured load tolerance after trapeziectomy.ConclusionsOur results show that tendon suspension leads to the highest increase in thumb CMC load tolerance during resection-suspension-interposition arthroplasty.Clinical relevanceTendon suspension appears to be the most important step in stabilizing the metacarpal base after trapeziectomy, whereas tendon interposition does not seem to have a relevant additional effect regarding load tolerance, at least immediately after surgery.

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Medicare Spending and Evidence-Based Approach in Surgical Treatment of Thumb Carpometacarpal Joint Arthritis: 2001 to 2010.

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Medicare Spending and Evidence-Based Approach in Surgical Treatment of Thumb Carpometacarpal Joint Arthritis: 2001 to 2010.

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