Reversed shoulder arthroplasty in the very elderly patient, does it make sense? Mortality and revision of different indications of joint replacement in patients 80 years and older based on data from the Dutch Arthroplasty Register
Approval date: November 21st 2025
Starting date: December 19th 2025
EJD Veen, O Dorrestijn, a Medical student, FF Schroder, L van Steenbergen
Research proposal abstract
The Dutch population is aging rapidly, and the government policy encourages the aging population to live independently for as long as possible. As a result, the number of joint replacement procedures in patients aged 80 years and older is increasing. Just as there are more hip fractures with increasing age, the same applies to shoulder fractures. In older patients with proximal humeral fractures, reverse shoulder arthroplasty (rTSA) is often the preferred treatment. However, limited data exist on how long these patients might benefit from these procedures
.
This study aims to describe outcomes in patients aged 80 and older who received shoulder arthroplasty either for acute proximal humeral fracture or other indications, using data from the Dutch Arthroplasty Register (LROI) from 2014 to 2024. Survival analysis for mortality (primary outcome) and revision (secondary outcome) will be performed using Kaplan-Meier survival for mortality and competing risk for revision rates. Differences in patient characteristics, types of prostheses (cement, uncemented), and surgery characteristics will be described. The findings of this study will provide insights into the effectiveness of shoulder arthroplasty in older patients and may support clinical decision-making for this growing patient population.