Association of Antihypertensive and Statin Medication Usage With Postoperative Stiffness After Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Background: Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEi), angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB), and statins may be able to modulate postoperative stiffness, a major cause of morbidity after arthroscopic rotator cuff repair (aRCR).

Purpose: To determine whether there is an association between ACEi, ARB, or statin usage and stiffness after aRCR.

Study design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: Patients who underwent primary aRCR between January 2016 and December 2019 were categorized into 4 groups depending on the usage of ACEi (n = 45), ARB (n = 27), statins (n = 53), or none of these medications (controls; n = 113). Range of motion in flexion, abduction, internal rotation (IR), and external rotation (ER) was recorded preoperatively and at 6 weeks and 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively. Functional outcomes were assessed with the American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) score, the Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE), and the Simple Shoulder Test (SST) preoperatively and at 1 and 2 years postoperatively. The groups were compared using t test or Mann-Whitney U test for continuous data and chi-square or Fisher exact test for categorical data.

Results: Preoperatively, compared with controls, the ACEi group had decreased flexion (P = .038), abduction (P = .001), ER (P = .009), and IR (P = .015); the ARB group had decreased abduction (P = .012) and IR (P = .019); and the statins group had decreased abduction (P = .015), ER (P = .008), and IR (P = .011). Postoperatively, compared with controls, the ACEi group had decreased 6-month abduction (P = .034) that resolved by 12 months and 3-month ER (P = .004) that persisted into 6 months, the ARB group had greater ER at 12 months (P = .006), and the statins group had increased 6-week abduction (P = .017) that normalized by 3 months. Patients taking ACEi had lower postoperative ASES (30 vs 58.6; P = .001) and SANE scores (28.4 vs 52.3; P = .002) at 1 year and lower SST scores at 2 years (74.7 vs 85.5; P = .002) versus controls.

Conclusion: Patients who used ACEi showed an increased risk of stiffness 6 months postoperatively and had worse SST scores at 2 years after aRCR, while those who used ARB demonstrated improved postoperative ER and IR, with no changes in functional outcomes at longer-term follow-ups.