Postoperative Antiosteoporotic Treatment with Zoledronic Acid Improves Rotator Cuff Healing but Does Not Improve Outcomes in Female Patients with Postmenopausal Osteoporosis: A Prospective, Single-Blinded, Randomized Study

Purpose

To investigate the effect of the antiosteoporotic agent zoledronic acid (ZA) on rotator cuff healing and clinical outcomes in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis.

Methods

We prospectively enrolled 138 female patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis who were scheduled to undergo arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (ARCR) from March 2020 to March 2021. Patients were randomly allocated to the ZA group (ARCR followed by intravenous ZA infusions at postoperative Day 1 and 1 year later) and the control group (ARCR alone). All patients were followed up for 24 months. Tendon healing was evaluated by ultrasonography at 6 weeks and 24 months after surgery. The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, Western Ontario Rotator Cuff (WORC) index, and Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) for pain were recorded at each follow-up, and the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) was calculated.

Results

A total of 124 patients were included in the final analysis, 61 in the ZA group and 63 in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference in participant characteristics between the 2 groups. The ZA group had a significantly higher tendon healing rate than the control group at 2 years after surgery (odds ratio = 5.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4-18.7; P = .014). Regarding clinical outcomes, 100% of patients exceeded the MCID in both groups, and no significant differences were found at 2 years after surgery between the 2 groups (ASES: 2.5 [95% CI, −2.2 to 7.2; P = .291]; WORC index: 4.5 [95% CI, −0.117 to 9.117; P = .056]; NRS: −0.1 [95% CI, −0.3 to 0.1; P = .394]).

Conclusions

Antiosteoporotic treatment with ZA reduced the retear rate but did not significantly influence the clinical outcomes after ARCR in female patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis. Outcomes of ARCR showed good results in both groups and exceeded the MCID.

Level of Evidence

Level I, randomized controlled trial.