Trends in Primary Proximal Interphalangeal Joint System and Revisions for Osteoarthritis of the Hand in the Medicare Database.

BACKGROUND: Proximal interphalangeal arthroplasty (PIPA) has been indicated for patients suffering from osteoarthritis (OA) or rheumatoid arthritis of the hand. Although there is extensive literature showing the outcomes of PIPA, there is paucity in the literature regarding trends of PIPA in patients with OA of the hand. The purpose of this study was to determine annual primary utilization and revision PIPA trends within the Medicare population with the use of an administrative database.

METHODS: A retrospective query was performed using the Medicare Standard Analytical Files from the PearlDiver database. Patients undergoing primary and revision PIPA with hand OA were queried using International Classification of Disease, Ninth Revision, and Current Procedural Terminology coding. Primary outcomes analyzed included annual and revision utilization of PIPA and demographic comparison of age, gender, and geographic location. Statistical analysis was primarily descriptive. An α value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS: The query returned 10 191 patients who underwent primary and revision PIPA between 2005 and 2013. Calculated annual growth rate for primary and revision PIPA was 2.40% and -0.03%, respectively ( P < .001). Patients between the ages of 70 and 74 years represented most of the patients undergoing a primary PIPA, whereas patients between 65 and 69 years most commonly underwent a revision procedure. Regionally, primary and revision PIPA were most commonly performed in the South.

CONCLUSION: The data demonstrate an increased use of primary PIPA utilization for patients with OA, whereas revision PIPA decreased. The increased use indicates the increasing demand for PIPA in the United States.