Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34497864›Full record

ArticleOrthopaedic journal of sports medicine2021

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

Ryan W Paul, Ali Omari, Brian Fliegel, Meghan E Bishop, Brandon J Erickson, Frank G Alberta

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Injury Incidence Increases after COVID-19 Infection: A Case Study with a Male Professional Football Team.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022
    Article
  5. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ryan W PaulRothman Orthopaedic Institute, New York, New York, USA.
Ali OmariRothman Orthopaedic Institute, New York, New York, USA.
Brian FliegelDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Stratford, New Jersey, USA.
Meghan E BishopRothman Orthopaedic Institute, New York, New York, USA.
Brandon J EricksonRothman Orthopaedic Institute, New York, New York, USA.
Frank G AlbertaRothman Orthopaedic Institute, New York, New York, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe 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

designCohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

methodsAn 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).

resultsA 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 (

conclusionMLB 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.

Indexed as

COVID-19MLBreconstructionulnar collateral ligament

Identifiers

PMID34497864
PMCPMC8419557

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.