Italian research on anterior cruciate ligament: a bibliometric analysis.

INTRODUCTION: This study analysed the trend of publications on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in Italy. It was hypothesised that publications on this topic have quickly increased in recent years due to increased knowledge of both clinical and radiological pathology. METHODS: PubMed and Scopus were accessed on 29/11/2023. This retrieved 838 articles from PubMed and 1050 from Scopus. We analysed the top 10 authors, and journals in publication numbers, citation numbers, and citations per year. We have also looked at the top 10 institutions publishing on anterior cruciate ligament from Scopus as PubMed does not give this information in the output. Data mining was performed using the Orange software, Mac version 3.32.0 ( https://orangedatamining.com/ ) from the titles of all articles. A word cloud analysis of titles, authors, journals and universities was performed. RESULTS: The peak of citations was in 2017 with 1529, whilst the peak of publications was in 2019 with 59 articles published. Analysing the number of publications and citations for the journal, the most impacted journal is Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy with 5472 citations and 183 articles, followed by The American Journal of Sports Medicine, with 2722 citations and 56 articles and Arthroscopy with 1990 citations and 62 articles. Considering also international collaborations, the most cited author is Della Villa F. in 2020 with 43.67 citations per year. The Italian author with the major number of publications is Zaffagnini S. with 39 articles, whilst the author with the higher number of citations is Aglietti P. with 1612 citations. CONCLUSIONS: ACL reconstruction has gained growing interest amongst the scientific community. Publications and citations presented a rising trend, the majority of the highly cited papers were contributed by few centres, and clinical trials were the most cited study designs. The long-term outcomes of ACL lesions have attracted interest. The authors hypothesised that shortly there will be an increase in articles analysing the results of ACL revisions, the use of lateral extra-articular tenodesis, and meniscus transplants. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV: Cross-Sectional Study.

No difference in mobile and fixed bearing partial knee arthroplasty in octogenarians: a clinical trial.

BACKGROUND: A clinical trial comparing MB (mobile-bearing) versus FB (fixed-bearing) in medial partial knee arthroplasty (PKA) in octagenarians has been conducted. The focus of the present study was on PROMs, range of motion (ROM), implant positioning and implants survivorship. The hypothesis of the present study was that MB implants performed better than FB in PKA in octogenarians. METHODS: The first group received FB PKA-PPK®; the second received MB PKA-Oxford. Patients were not randomly allocated. The following PROMs were administered at T0 (pre-operatively), T1 (1 year after surgery), and T2 (3 years after surgery): visual analogue scale (VAS), Knee Society Score (KSS) and Oxford Knee Score (OKS). Data regarding the implant survivorship and ROM were also collected. Furthermore, the following radiographic parameters were measured: Femoral component varus/valgus; Tibial component varus/valgus; Anteroposterior slope. RESULTS: At T0, 28 patients were included in the FB and 33 in the MB group. The surgical time was shorter in the FB group (p < 0.001). No difference between FB and MB in ROM, VAS, KSS, and OKS at each follow-up (p > 0.05). No difference was found in implant positioning (p > 0.05). At last follow-up, FB group reported three failures caused by aseptic loosening. Four failures were observed in the MB cohort: two for bearing dislocation and two for aseptic loosening. The Kaplan-Meier Curve found no differences in implant survivorship. CONCLUSIONS: According to the main findings of the present clinical trial, MB implants performed similar to FB in PKA in octogenarians. The FB group demonstrated shorted surgical time. No difference was found in patient reported outcome measures, ROM, implant positioning, and survivorship. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level II, prospective study.

Titanium Niobium Nitride Mobile-Bearing Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty Results in Good to Excellent Clinical and Radiographic Outcomes in Metal Allergy Patients With Medial Knee Osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND: The main purpose of the present study was to analyze the clinical and radiological outcomes of patients with positive skin patch tests who underwent medial mobile-bearing titanium niobium nitride unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) during a mid-term follow-up. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients with positive skin patch tests were included in this prospective study. The clinical evaluation consisted of Oxford Knee Score and Knee Society Score (KSS) reports. Each patient was clinically evaluated the day before surgery (T0) as well as at T1 (11.9 ± 1.3 months) and during the final follow-up T2 (67.2 ± 19.1 months). The positioning of the UKA was evaluated during the final follow-up using standardized radiographs (T2: 67.2 ± 19.1 months). RESULTS: Oxford and KSS ranged from a respective mean preoperative value of 23.0 ± 2.7 and 51.5 ± 5.0 to 42.1 ± 1.7 and 87.6 ± 2.2, respectively, at T1 (P < .001) and to the final values of 45.0 ± 1.9 and 91.9 ± 3.4, respectively, at T2 (P < .001 both vs T1 and T2). At T2, the mean femoral angle was 7.0° ± 4.5°, mean tibial angle was 3.0° ± 2.1°, and mean tibial slope was 5.1° ± 3.2°. A significant difference was found between KSS and Oxford with ANOVA for repeated measures over time (P < .001). The Oxford and KSS scores showed significant improvements during each follow-up. No complications were found, and not a single patient required a revision surgery during the follow-up period. CONCLUSION: The hypoallergenic titanium niobium nitride mobile-bearing UKA showed comparable results to standard CoCr UKA regardless of the gender, age, BMI, and implant size of metal allergy patients with medial knee osteoarthritis. Careful patient selection processes and accurate medical histories played key roles in the choice of hypersensitivity-friendly implants.

Use of tourniquet in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: Is it truly necessary? A prospective randomized clinical trial.

PURPOSE: To examine the effects of tourniquet use in arthroscopic anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction in terms of (1) intraoperative visualization, (2) surgical time, (3) consumption of sterile saline, and (4) postoperative pain. METHODS: In this prospective randomized clinical trial, patients were assigned to Tourniquet Group or No Tourniquet treatment groups. The primary outcomes were intraoperative visualization, with scores ranging from 0 to 10 (0 = no visibility; 10 = clear and perfect display), surgical time, and the consumption of sterile saline. The secondary aim was to measure postoperative pain (24 h after surgery) with the visual analog scale (VAS) for pain. RESULTS: A total of 71 patients were included in the No Tourniquet group, and 75 were included in the Tourniquet group, with mean ages of 26.73 ± 8.05 years and 26.95 ± 10.11 years, respectively (p = .88). In the No Tourniquet group, 37 concomitant meniscal lesions were treated, whereas in the Tourniquet group, 38 (p = .99) were treated. The mean surgical times were 51.07 ± 6.90 and 50.03 ± 7.62 (p = .325), respectively, while the mean amount of saline consumed was 6.17 ± 1.18 L versus 5.89 ± 1.23 L (p = .217). Both groups achieved optimal visualization, with a sum of all surgical steps of 65.49 ± 1.86 for the no tourniquet group and 65.39 ± 1.88 for the Tourniquet group (p = .732). Postoperative pain was significantly lower in the No Tourniquet group (VAS score: 2.82 ± 1.33 vs 5.80 ± 1.22). CONCLUSIONS: Tourniquet use during ACL reconstruction does not improve intraoperative visualization and does not reduce surgical time but leads to greater postoperative pain with a risk of well-known tourniquet-related complications. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level I - Randomized clinical trial.

Magnetic resonance imaging shows low sensitivity but good specificity in detecting ramp lesions in children and adolescents with ACL injury: A systematic review.

IMPORTANCE: The diagnosis of ramp lesions can be problematic, even with arthroscopy, due to their extreme posteromedial position. Consequently, they have been colloquially referred to as the "hidden lesions" of the knee. Undiagnosed and untreated injuries in this knee region may be associated with ongoing dynamic rotational laxity of the knee after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction and an increased risk of anterior cruciate ligament graft failure. AIM: This study aimed to systematically review the literature to assess the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for detecting ramp lesions in children and adolescents with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)-deficient knees. It was hypothesized that MRI has poor sensitivity for identifying ramp lesions in children and adolescents. EVIDENCE REVIEW: A systematic review was conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The following search terms were used in the title, abstract and keywords fields: "ramp" or "meniscus" AND "children" or "adolescents." The outcome data extracted from the studies were incidence of ramp in concomitant with ACL lesion, MRI sensitivity, specificity, accuracy and positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV). FINDINGS: Of the 387 patients with ACL injury, 90 were reported to have ramp lesions (23.3%). The mean age at the time of diagnosis was 15.3 â€‹± â€‹0.81 years. The mean time from injury to MRI was 116.1 â€‹± â€‹113.5 days, while the mean time from injury to surgery was 172.6 â€‹± â€‹139.1 days. The MRI taken to detect ramp lesions in the paediatric population showed a pooled sensitivity of 50%, specificity of 75%, accuracy of 70%, PPV of 41% and NPV of 79%. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The prevalence of ACL-associated ramp lesions in children and adolescents is similar to that in adult populations. Magnetic resonance imaging has low sensitivity but good specificity for assessing ramp lesions. In the presence of a posteromedial tibial bone bruise or a thin fluid signal separating the posterior horn of the medial meniscus and the posteromedial capsule a ramp lesion should always be suspected. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level IV. STUDY REGISTRATION: PROSPERO -: CRD42023453895.

Quadrupled Semitendinosus Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Without the Use of Tourniquet and Minimal Instrumentation: The "Double D" Technique.

The hamstring tendons are among the most common autografts used for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. Typically, the ipsilateral knee's gracilis and semitendinosus tendons are harvested. More recently, studies have described the use of just 1 of the tendons (the semitendinosus [ST]) in a tripled or quadrupled configuration, particularly in all-inside reconstructions. Instead of using a double gracilis and ST, a quadrupled ST tendon allows for a graft with enough diameter to more closely mimic the natural anterior cruciate ligament while lowering the likelihood of graft rupture. The use of tourniquets has been reported to increase the risk of complications, particularly deep vein thrombosis. This Technical Note describes an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction performed with a quadrupled ST, without the use of a tourniquet, and with only the reamers and a tibial guide as surgical instrumentation.

Radiographic and Clinical Evolution of the Oxford Unicompartmental Knee Arthroplasty.

The aim of the study is to evaluate whether the use of the new instrumentation Microplasty (MP) improves component positioning and the reliability of the surgical technique, reducing the implant outliers from the recommended range and providing a more accurate resection, while avoiding insufficient or excessive tibial resection and clinical scores. We prospectively analyzed clinical and radiographic outcomes of three consecutive cohorts for a total of 227 implants at a minimum follow-up of 36 months. The first cohort consisted of 67 Oxford unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (OUKA), using the phase III (Ph-III). The second cohort consisted of 136 OUKA, with the MP instrumentation. The third cohort consisted of 24 hypoallergenic OUKA, using the MP instrumentation (TiNbN). Postoperative alignment of the knee in the coronal and sagittal plane was measured using radiographs. No clinical differences were found among the three groups (p > 0.05). A significant difference was found on the slope between Ph-III and MP (p = 0.0005). Moreover, a significant difference was found in tibial angle and in tibial slope in arthroplasty with femoral size small (S), compared with size medium (M) or large (Ly) (tibia varus/valugs angle: p = 0.0484; tibial slope: p = 0.04). Similar results were found between small (AA, A, B) tibial size and large (C, D, E, F) tibial size for tibial varus/valgus (p = 0.03) angle and tibial slope (p = 0.003). A significant difference was found between Ph-III and MP in tibial slope in patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥25 kg/m2 (p = 0.0003). A positive correlation was noted between the femoral and tibial sizes and the tibial angle and the slope, and a negative correlation between weight and the tibial slope; furthermore, a positive correlation was found between Oxford knee score and radiographic angles. The MP instrumentation seems to be effective in determining the tibial cut and, particularly, improving the tibial slope, compared with Ph-III. The tibial slope is directly affected by the weight and measurements of the components, regardless of the instruments or the number of pegs, while clinical outcomes are correlated with implant position. This prospective comparative study reflects level of evidence II.

Biomechanics of the posterior oblique ligament of the knee.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this systematic literature review is to analyse the isolated biomechanics of the posterior oblique ligament of the knee. In the current literature, the biomechanical aspect of the posterior oblique ligament was analysed in several articles, but this was always done in association with other capsuloligamentous structures. METHODS: A systematic review of the existing literature was performed to identify all studies dealing with the biomechanics of the posterior oblique ligament. Two independent investigators performed the research using the MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, Embase and Cochrane databases. FINDINGS: A total of 10 articles analysed the biomechanics of the posterior oblique ligament, confirming the importance of this ligament for the stability of the knee in different positions. The posterior oblique ligament is the main stabiliser against internal rotation in early flexion angles (0°-30°) and it is an important restraint to posterior tibial translation in the posterior cruciate ligament deficient knee. Furthermore, the posterior oblique ligament bears up to 47% of the force borne by the anterior cruciate ligament in resisting the internal rotation loads when a pivot-shift maneuver is simulated. INTERPRETATION: This review confirms that the posterior oblique ligament is an anatomically well-defined and distinct structure that plays a key role in stabilising the knee, especially in internal rotation. The posterior oblique ligament is frequently injured along with other anatomical structures. Future studies should develop clinical tests to evaluate the functionality and stability of the the posterior oblique ligament.