The effects of arthroscopic joint debridement in the knee osteoarthritis: results of a meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Knee osteoarthritis is one of the most common orthopaedic diseases. Therapeutic options for this disease include conservative treatments and arthroscopic debridement and partial or complete replacement. This meta-analysis aimed to collect and analyse the available information on the effects of arthroscopic joint debridement related to the clinical outcomes, the required conversion to replacement and the factors for patient selection. METHODS: A search for publications was performed in the PubMed, Cochrane and EMBASE medical databases. The primary search resulted in a total of 1,512 citations. The results from 30 papers were included in this study. The extracted dates were listed in a standardised protocol. The statistical evaluation was performed using Comprehensive Meta-analysis software (V2 Biostat, Englewood, NJ, USA). RESULTS: No randomised study that compared conservative and arthroscopic treatments for knee osteoarthritis was found. Most studies reported middle-term results after arthroscopic operations. The results of these studies showed excellent or good outcomes in more than 60 % of all patients. These results were correlated with a significant increase in the knee scores from baseline to follow-up; the standardised difference in means was 2.3 (CI 95 % 1.5-3.0, p < 0.001). The required conversion rate to replacement increased as the follow-up interval increased. The rates were as follows: 1 year-6.1 % (CI 95 %, 2.1-16.6 %), 2 years-16.8 % (CI 95 %, 10.2-26.3 %), 3 years-21.7 % (CI 95 %, 15.5-29.1 %) and 4 years-34.1 % (CI 95 %, 22.8-47.6 %). The mean survival time was 42.7 (CI 95 %, 14.5-71.1) months. Numerous factors influenced the outcome, including the radiological stage of the osteoarthritis and individual patient factors (e.g. time of history of osteoarthritis, weight and smoking). The local knee findings, such as axial dysalignment, missing effusion and massive crepitus, were also correlated with patient outcome. CONCLUSION: Arthroscopic joint debridement is a potential and sufficient treatment for knee osteoarthritis in a middle-term time interval. This procedure results in an excellent or good outcome in approximately 60 % of patients in approximately 5 years. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Systematic review of studies, Level III.

Necrotizing fasciitis of the knee following primary total knee arthroplasty.

Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare, life-threatening and rapidly spreading soft-tissue infection that results in necrosis of the muscle, fascia and surrounding tissue. It can be result of a polymicrobial synergistic infection or a streptococcal infection. The authors report a case of necrotizing fasciitis occurring in the knee of a 65-year-old woman following an uneventful primary total knee arthroplasty and resulting in above-the-knee amputation. Having in mind severe infections like necrotising fasciitis, one should be aware of the possibility of such postoperative complications especially in patients with risk factors even in routine procedures like a total knee arthroplasty.

Whole-Organ Arthroscopic Knee Score (WOAKS).

BACKGROUND: To describe a semi-quantitative score for multi-feature, whole-organ evaluation of the knee in osteoarthritis based on the results of arthroscopic evaluation. METHODS: This was a study of 1,199 patients who were suffering from knee pain for over 3 months (range 3 to 48 months) and had undergone arthroscopy. The mean age of patients was 49.8 (range 17 to 85) years old. Cartilage lesions were graded according to the ICRS protocol (grade 0 to 4 and for osteophytes "grade 5"). Meniscus lesions were classified regarding to the extent of resection which was needed (grade 0: intact meniscus, grade 1: partial meniscectomy, grade 2: subtotal meniscectomy, and grade 3: total meniscectomy). The whole grade of cartilage lesions was calculated as the sum of ICRS grades in all joint surfaces (bearing and non-bearing margin). The whole grade of meniscus lesions was calculated as the sum of the points for medial and lateral meniscus surgery. The Whole-Organ Arthroscopic Knee Score (WOAKS) was the sum of the cartilage and meniscus score. RESULTS: The mean knee osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS) of all patients was 67.3 +/- 26.0 (range 21 to 128) points. The WOAKS was significantly associated (p = 0.001) with patient age (R = 0.399), the subjective complaints (R = 0.630) in KOOS, and the radiological grade of OA (R = 0.731). CONCLUSION: The good correlation between the WOAKS and the subjective complaints as well as the radiological grade of OA suggests that the score can be used as an instrument for description of the "whole organ" knee. This score may be useful for clinical or epidemiological studies in the future.

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy. A new method for arthroscopic evaluation of low grade degenerated cartilage lesions. Results of a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Arthroscopy is a highly sensitive method of evaluating high-grade cartilage lesions but the detection of low-grade lesions is often is unreliable. Objective measurements are required. A novel NIRS (near-infrared-spectroscopy) device for detection of low-grade cartilage defects was evaluated in a preliminary clinical study. METHODS: In 12 patients who had undergone arthroscopy, the cartilage lesions within the medial knee compartment were classified according to the ICRS protocol. With a NIR spectrometer system and an optical probe, similar in design to a hook used for routine arthroscopy, the optical properties of cartilage were measured during arthroscopy. RESULTS: The mean ratio of 2 NIR absorption bands of intact cartilage 3.8 (range 2.3 to 8.7).was significantly lower than that of cartilage with grade 1 lesions (12.8, range 4.8 to 19.6) and grade 2 lesions (13.4, range 10.4 to 15.4).No differences were observed between grade 1 and grade 2 lesions. CONCLUSION: NIRS can be used to distinguish between ICRS grade 1 lesions and healthy cartilage during arthroscopic surgeries. The results of this clinical study demonstrate the potential of NIRS to objectify classical arthroscopic grading systems.