Effect of COVID-19 on Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction in Major League Baseball Pitchers.

BACKGROUND

The coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to the suspension and shortening of the 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) season from 162 to 60 regular season games. The effect of this disruption on injury rates, specifically injury to the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), has not been quantified.

PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS

The purpose of this study was to compare the rate of UCL reconstruction (UCLR), surgery timing, and pitching workload in MLB pitchers from before and after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. We hypothesized that UCLR rates relative to games played would be increased and pitching workload would be decreased in 2020 compared with previous seasons.

STUDY DESIGN

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

METHODS

An extensive online search using publicly available data was conducted to identify all MLB pitchers who underwent UCLR between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2020. Only pitchers who were competing at the MLB level when undergoing reconstruction were included. Player characteristics and surgery date, as well as career and season of surgery pitching workload, were collected for all included pitchers. All data were compared as a pooled sample (2017-2019 vs 2020).

RESULTS

A similar number of pitchers underwent UCLR during or after the 2020 regular season (n = 18) compared with the 2017-2019 seasons (n = 16, 20, and 16, respectively). However, after accounting for the decrease in games played during the 2020 regular season, an MLB pitcher was 2.9 times more likely to undergo surgery per game after the COVID-19 lockdown compared with the previous years (

CONCLUSION

MLB pitchers were almost 3 times more likely to undergo UCLR per game after the COVID-19 lockdown. A decreased preseason pitching workload because of the COVID-19 lockdown may have had an effect on per game UCLR rates.

Informations de copyright

© The Author(s) 2021.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: M.E.B. has received grant support from Arthrex; education payments from Arthrex and Smith & Nephew; and hospitality payments from Stryker. B.J.E. has received education payments from Arthrex, DePuy, and Smith & Nephew and consulting fees from Arthrex. F.G.A. has received speaking fees from Integra LifeSciences. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto.