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. 2020 Oct 5;55(2):99–107. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2020-102216

Table 2.

Primary comparison arthroscopic subacromial decompression (ASD) versus diagnostic arthroscopy (DA): outcomes of the trial at 5 years follow-up

ASD
(n=53)
DA
(n=55)
Between group difference,
ASD versus DA
P value
Primary outcomes
 Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) score, at rest 6.2 (1.6 to 10.8) 8.2 (3.5 to 12.8) −2.0 (−8.5 to 4.6) 0.56
 VAS score, on arm activity 12.4 (5.8 to 19.0) 20.4 (13.8 to 26.9) −8.0 (−17.3 to 1.3) 0.093
Secondary outcomes
 Constant-Murley score 82.8 (78.4 to 87.3) 75.7 (71.3 to 80.1) 7.1 (0.9 to 13.4) 0.025
 Simple shoulder test score 10.7 (10.1 to 11.3) 10.3 (9.7 to 11.0) 0.3 (−0.5 to 1.2) 0.45
 15D score 0.90 (0.89 to 0.92) 0.92 (0.90 to 0.93) −0.01 (−0.03 to 0.01) 0.32
 SF-36 score
  Physical health 84.0 (80.6 to 87.4) 85.4 (82.0 to 88.8) −1.4 (−6.1 to 3.4) 0.58
  Mental health 79.9 (76.9 to 82.9) 80.1 (77.0 to 83.2) −0.2 (−4.5 to 4.1) 0.92
 Proportion of patients able to return to previous leisure activities* 0.91 (0.83 to 0.98) 0.86 (0.76 to 0.95) 0.05 (−0.07 to 0.17) 0.40
 Proportion of responders† 0.99 (0.95 to 1.0) 0.91 (0.84 to 0.99) 0.07 (−0.01 to 0.15) 0.080
 Patients’ satisfaction with treatment‡ 89.7 (84.5 to 94.9) 85.7 (80.6 to 90.8) 4.0 (−3.2 to 11.3) 0.28
 No (%) complications and adverse effects§ 3 (5) 2 (3)

Values are means with 95% CIs unless otherwise indicated. A lower score indicates the desired (better) treatment outcome in pain VAS score and complications, while a higher score indicates the same in all other outcomes. Between-group differences may not exactly equal the difference in changes in score between the ASD and diagnostic arthroscopy groups because of the adjustment for baseline imbalance in the mixed-effects model.

*Patients ability to return to previous leisure activities was assessed with the following question: ‘Have you been able to return to your previous leisure activities?’ (‘yes’ or ‘no’).

†Patients’ satisfaction with the treatment outcome was elicited with a question: ‘How satisfied are you with the outcome of your treatment?’ on a 5-item scale. Patients who reported very satisfied or satisfied were categorised as ‘Responders’.

‡Patients’ global assessment of satisfaction to the treatment was elicited with this question: ‘Are you satisfied with the treatment you have received?’ We used a VAS ranging from 0 (completely disappointed) to 100 (very satisfied).

§Complications directly related to the interventions were registered.