No difference in clinical outcome after rotator cuff repair performed within or later than 3 months after trauma: a retrospective cohort study.

PURPOSE: Rotator cuff (RC) tear is one of the most common injuries of the shoulder. Patients with RC tears often report a trauma initiating shoulder pain and impaired function. The aim of this retrospective analysis of a prospectively registered cohort was to elucidate whether the time interval between the trauma and RC repair, using a cut off of 3 months, affects the functional outcome after 2 years. METHODS: In a single orthopedic unit, 819 consecutive patients were treated with rotator cuff repair during the period from 2010 to 2014 and 733 of the patients completed the Western Ontario Rotator Cuff (WORC) index preoperatively and at 2-year follow-up. The Constant-Murley (CM) score was completed by trained physiotherapists after a clinical examination both preoperatively and at 2-year follow-up. Preoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed in all patients and postoperatively in 65% of the included patients. Re-tears and partial repairs were excluded, as were patients with pseudoparalysis who were given high priority and underwent surgery during the first 3 weeks after trauma. RESULTS: Of the 733 treated patients, 437 (60%) reported having had a shoulder trauma in their medical history initiating their shoulder symptoms, and of these, 358 met the inclusion criteria. 296 patients with non-traumatic tears, 9 repairs done within 3 weeks after trauma, 25 partial repairs, 33 re-tears and 12 others were excluded. At 2-year follow-up there was no significant difference in WORC index (n.s.) or CM score (n.s.) between patients who had their RC repaired within or more than 3 months after trauma. In patients where RC repair was performed within 3 months, the WORC index improved by 42.9%, and in the group of patients operated later than 3 months, the increase was 38.7%. This difference between the groups was neither statistically significant (n.s.) nor clinically relevant. On postoperative MRI, 80% of the repairs were healed in both groups. CONCLUSION: In this retrospective cohort study, no differences in clinical outcome were found when RC repair was performed between 3 weeks and 3 months or later than 3 months after injury in patients describing their onset of symptoms as traumatic. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Surgical reconstruction is a cost-efficient treatment option for isolated PCL injuries.

PURPOSE AND HYPOTHESIS: The main purpose of the study is to put focus on the costs related to treating posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries and the possible implications of chosen treatment strategy to the respective institutions and society. METHODS: Costs of treating PCL injuries nonoperatively and for both single-bundle (SB) and double-bundle (DB) reconstruction were estimated. These costs were translated into equivalent quality-adjusted life years (QALY) given a threshold value of Euro (€) 70,000 per QALY. Expected gain in knee osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS) quality of life (QoL) following surgery based on KOOS data from 112 patients was used as a basis for calculating the cost efficiency ratio. RESULTS: The average calculated cost of nonoperative treatment was €3382. Incremental cost for SB PCLR was €8585 (154%) and another increment of €5220 (61%) for DB PCLR using numbers from a European hospital. This is equivalent to increments of 0.074 (SB) and another 0.075 (DB) QALYs given the €70,000 threshold. For DB to be as cost efficient as SB reconstruction, the incremental gain in KOOS QoL has to be at the same level as for SB reconstruction compared to nonoperative treatment. CONCLUSION: Though surgical reconstruction adds a substantial cost to nonoperative treatment alone, it can be considered cost-effective. Double-bundle reconstruction is less cost efficient than SB reconstruction, but should probably still be considered the treatment of choice for certain patient categories. Randomized controlled trials looking at outcome following nonoperative, SB and DB PCL reconstruction are needed. The clinical relevance of this is that surgical reconstruction of PCL injuries is a cost-efficient treatment alternative in patients with an isolated PCL injury. This finding should be taken into consideration when deciding on how to treat these injuries. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Epidemiology of surgically treated posterior cruciate ligament injuries in Scandinavia.

PURPOSE: The main purpose of the study was to provide an overview of injury mechanisms, concomitant injuries, and other relevant epidemiological data for patients treated in Scandinavia with posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (PCLR) following a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury. METHODS: A total number of 1287 patients who underwent PCLR from 2004 to 2013 in the Scandinavian counties were included from the national ligament registries. The variables such as age, sex, activity, and graft used for reconstruction were collected. Then, injuries were sorted based on concomitant injuries. Finally, data from the different registries were compared. RESULTS: Average age of the treated patients was 32.7 years. Sex distribution ratio of male to female was 858:429 (66.7 %:33.3 %). Depending on definition, 26-37 % of the injuries treated were isolated PCL injuries. PCL injuries were most commonly encountered in sports with 35.4 % of the total number of PCL injuries in the study population. Soccer was the sport with the highest number of injuries (13.1 %). Cartilage lesions occurred in 26.1 % of PCL injuries and meniscal lesions in 21.0 %. Minimum one other additional ligament was injured in 62.2 %. CONCLUSION: Isolated PCL injuries are common, although the injury is most commonly associated with other ligament injuries. There is a high prevalence of cartilage injuries and meniscal lesions associated with PCL injuries. Sports are the leading cause of PCL injuries treated operatively. Epidemiological data are a necessary part of the basis for injury prevention in the future. The prevalence of concomitant injuries is also relevant and clinically important for the choice of surgical procedure and for the expected outcomes following surgery. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.

Autologous Chondrocyte Implantation Is Not Better Than Arthroscopic Debridement for the Treatment of Symptomatic Cartilage Lesions of the Knee: Two-Year Results From a Randomized-Controlled Trial.

Purpose: To compare the functional and patient-reported outcome measures after autologous chondrocyte implantation (ACI) and arthroscopic debridement (AD) in symptomatic, isolated cartilage injuries larger than 2 cm2 in patients aged 18 to 50 years. Methods: Twenty-eight patients were included and randomized to ACI (n = 15) or AD (n = 13) and followed for 2 years. The primary outcome was the change in the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) Quality of Life (QoL) subscale. Results: The mean age at inclusion was 34.1 (standard deviation [SD] 8.5) years. There were 19 (68%) male patients. The mean size of the lesion was 4.2 (SD 1.7) cm2. There was a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in patient-reported outcome measures from baseline to 2 years in both groups. The improvement from baseline to final follow-up for the primary endpoint (the KOOS QoL subscale) was larger for the AD group (39.8, SD 9.4) compared with the ACI group (23.8, SD 6.7), but this difference was not statistically significant (P = .17). However, according to a mixed linear model there were statistically significantly greater scores in the AD group for several KOOS subscales at several time points, including KOOS QoL, KOOS pain, and KOOS sport and recreation at 2 years. Conclusions: This study indicates that AD followed by supervised physiotherapy is equal to or better than ACI followed by supervised physiotherapy in patients with isolated cartilage lesions of the knee larger than 2 cm2. The improvement in KOOS QoL score from baseline to 2 years was clinically meaningful for both groups (23.8 points for ACI and 39.8 points AD), and larger for the AD group by 16 points. Level of Evidence: Level I, prospective randomized controlled trial.

An isolated rupture of the posterior cruciate ligament results in reduced preoperative knee function in comparison with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

PURPOSE: To investigate differences in preoperative knee function (Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score, KOOS), the time period from injury to surgery, and associated injuries when comparing primary isolated posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) and primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstructions. METHODS: Isolated primary ACL and PCL reconstructions registered in the Norwegian National Knee Ligament Registry from 2004 through 2010 were included (n = 71 primary PCLs and 9,649 primary ACLs). Linear regression analysis was used to evaluate the preoperative KOOS subscale values. RESULTS: The preoperative KOOS in the PCL group (n = 71) and ACL group (n = 9,649) was significantly different for the subscales symptoms (mean difference, -8.4; 95% CI: -12.8 to -4.0), pain (mean difference, -15.9; 95% CI: -20.3 to -11.4), activities of daily living (mean difference, -12.9; 95% CI: -17.4 to -8.4), sport and recreation (mean difference, -15.9; 95% CI: -22.6 to -9.3), and quality of life (mean difference, -7.9; 95% CI: -12.4 to -3.5). The primary isolated PCL-reconstructed knees had a median time from injury to surgery of 21 months in comparison with 8 months for ACL injuries. The ACL-injured knees had more associated injuries (meniscus and full-thickness cartilage lesions) than the PCL-injured knees. CONCLUSION: Surgically treated knees with an isolated rupture of the PCL exhibited worse knee function preoperatively compared with knees with an isolated ACL injury; in addition, the delay to surgery was longer. Meniscal lesions were found more frequently in ACL-injured knees. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Prospective cohort study, evidence Level I.

The Effect of Lesion Size on Pain and Function in Patients Scheduled for Cartilage Surgery of the Knee.

OBJECTIVE: Despite an increased interest in treatment options for cartilage lesions of the knee, the relationship between lesion characteristics and the symptoms they elicit is not well understood. We evaluated the relationship between lesion characteristics and the patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and compared this with symptoms reported by patients scheduled for knee ligament reconstruction and knee arthroplasty. DESIGN: Preoperative data, including Lysholm score and The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), in 90 consecutive patients scheduled for surgery for symptomatic isolated cartilage lesions were prospectively collected. RESULT: The patients had a mean age of 33.2 years. There were 62 (69%) males. There was no statistically significant difference in PROMs between patients with cartilage lesions smaller or larger than 2 cm2, except for the KOOS subscale symptoms, with patients with smaller lesions reporting higher scores, 62.8 (95% confidence interval [CI] 58.3-67.3) vs. 51.9 (95% CI 45.5-58.4), P = 0.005. There was a small correlation between lesion size and Lysholm score. However, when adjusted for age, sex, body mass index, and lesion localization, this effect was not statistically significant. The International Cartilage Regeneration & Joint Preservation Society grade did not affect preoperative PROMs. Cartilage patients reported worse preoperative symptoms than patients scheduled for knee ligament reconstruction, and approaching the symptoms reported by patients scheduled for knee arthroplasty. CONCLUSION: The size, depth, and location of cartilage lesions have little impact on the symptoms experienced by the patients. Cartilage patients have comparable symptoms to patients scheduled for knee arthroplasty.

Is T2 mapping reliable in evaluation of native and repair cartilage tissue of the knee?

PURPOSE: To evaluate the effect of imaging plane and experience of observers on the reliability of T2 mapping of native and repair cartilage tissue of the knee. METHODS: Fifteen consecutive patients from two randomised controlled trials (RCTs) were included in this cross-sectional study. Patients with an isolated knee cartilage lesion were randomised to receive either debridement or microfracture (RCT 1) or debridement or autologous chondrocyte implantation (RCT 2). T2 mapping was performed in coronal and sagittal planes two years postoperatively. A musculoskeletal radiologist, a resident of radiology and two orthopaedic surgeons measured the T2 values independently. Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) with 95% Confidence Intervals was used to calculate the inter- and intraobserver agreement. RESULTS: Mean age for the patients was 36.8 ± 11 years, 8 (53%) were men. The overall interobserver agreement varied from poor to good with ICCs in the range of 0.27- 0.76 for native cartilage and 0.00 - 0.90 for repair tissue. The lowest agreement was achieved for evaluations of repair cartilage tissue. The estimated ICCs suggested higher inter- and intraobserver agreement for radiologists. On medial femoral condyles, T2 values were higher for native cartilage on coronal images (p < 0.001) and for repair tissue on sagittal images (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The reliability of T2 mapping of articular cartilage is influenced by the imaging plane and the experience of the observers. This influence may be more profound for repair cartilage tissue. This is important to consider when using T2 mapping to measure outcomes after cartilage repair surgery. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02637505 and NCT02636881 , registered December 2015. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II, based on prospective data from two RCTs.

Effect of Activity at Time of Injury and Concomitant Ligament Injuries on Patient-Reported Outcome After Posterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: The outcomes after posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (PCLR) have been shown to be inferior to those of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. There is a lack of knowledge regarding prognostic factors of PCLR outcomes. PURPOSE: To explore the effect of injury mechanism and concomitant ligament injuries on patient-reported outcomes at 2-year follow-up after PCLR. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. METHODS: A total of 373 patients who underwent primary PCLR and who were registered in the Norwegian Knee Ligament Registry were included. The Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) was used as the patient-reported outcome measure. At 2-year follow-up, 252 patients (68%) had completed the KOOS. Multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the effects of injury activity and multiligament injuries on the KOOS outcomes. RESULTS: In the adjusted and unadjusted regression analyses, patients injured during sports reported significantly better outcome at 2-year follow-up after PCLR than patients injured during other activities (P < .001) according to all KOOS subscales. Adjusted analysis was as follows for the KOOS subscales: Symptoms (regression coefficient [ß], 7.0; 95% CI, 1.9-12.2), Pain (ß, 13.4; 95% CI, 8.0-18.9), Activities of Daily Living (ß, 12.6; 95% CI, 7.1-18.1), Sport/Recreation (ß, 15.3; 95% CI, 8.0-22.5), and Quality of Life (ß, 13.5; 95% CI, 7.1-20.0). In the unadjusted analysis, patients with isolated PCL injuries reported higher scores in the Sport/Recreation subscale (ß, -7.9; 95% CI, -15.5 to -0.3). The difference was not significant in the adjusted analysis. No other significant differences in KOOS outcomes were found between isolated and multiligament injuries. CONCLUSION: Patients injured in sports reported better outcomes at 2 years after PCLR as compared with patients injured in other activities. Multiligament injuries involving the PCL do not seem to predict a worse outcome than for isolated PCL injuries.

Patients With Isolated PCL Injuries Improve From Surgery as Much as Patients With ACL Injuries After 2 Years.

BACKGROUND: Reports on outcome after posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) reconstruction often contain both isolated PCL and combined knee ligament injuries. This makes it difficult to conclude on the outcome after reconstruction of isolated PCL injuries. PURPOSE: To investigate the outcome after PCL reconstruction in patients with an isolated PCL injury and to compare this with the outcome of patients treated with reconstruction after isolated anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: Seventy-one patients with an isolated PCL injury that was reconstructed surgically and who had registered in the Norwegian Knee Ligament Registry between 2004 and 2010 were included in this study. Patients with isolated ACL reconstructions (n = 9661) who had registered in the same period were included for comparison. Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) was used as the patient-reported outcome measure. Preoperative and 2-year postoperative KOOS scores were compared. Changes in KOOS score reported by the PCL patients were compared with changes reported by the ACL patients. RESULTS: At the 2-year postoperative follow-up of the PCL-reconstructed patients, the patient-reported outcome was improved, measured by KOOS as follows: pain, 15.1 (95% CI, 8.5-21.8; P < .001); symptoms, 0.9 (95% CI, -6.6 to 8.3; P = .82); activities of daily living, 13.2 (95% CI, 6.6-13.9; P < .001); sports, 20.7 (95% CI, 11.8-29.4; P < .001); and quality of life, 26.6 (95% CI, 18.9-34.2; P < .001). According to the KOOS, the incremental improvements were similar for PCL and ACL patients. Time from injury to surgery was longer for the PCL patients compared with ACL patients (median, 21.5 vs 8.0 months; P < .001). CONCLUSION: Patients undergoing PCL reconstruction can expect the same improvements in KOOS score as patients undergoing ACL reconstruction. However, PCL patients start out with an inferior score on average and consequently end up at a lower score compared with ACL patients for all KOOS subscales.