Health and Safety Education for Painting Workers in Small Companies to Make Them Aware That Paint Is "Dangerous and Harmful".

Workers in painting companies may be unaware that the paints they handle have adverse health effects. The present study explored the factors associated with workers' perception of paints as "dangerous and harmful". A questionnaire survey and interviews were conducted with workers engaged in painting operations in small-sized painting companies (fewer than 50 employees) in northern Kyushu and Yamaguchi prefectures. Safety and health education methods making workers perceive paint as "dangerous and harmful" were clarified. Fisher's exact test and logistic regression analysis were used for the survey and hierarchical cluster analysis for the interviews. The factor "Hazard prediction activity (KY Activity)", gender, and job position were identified as factors that make workers perceive paint as "dangerous and harmful". Based on the interview results, "KY Activity" was a keyword and a standardized safety and health activity. Before work, workers gather in a small group to discuss the dangers and hazards of paint, share information, establish action goals, and confirm safety measures. The questionnaire identified "KY Activity" as a factor influencing the workers' perception of paint as "dangerous and harmful". "KY Activity," also extracted from the interviews, is an effective health and safety education method for teaching workers in small-sized painting companies that paint is "dangerous and harmful".

Farm operations and slips, trips, and falls among corn farm workers in Thailand.

Slips, trips, and falls (STFs) represent a main source of injury among farm workers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association between farm operations and STFs among corn farm workers. We conducted a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire among corn farm workers in Nan and Saraburi provinces, Thailand from July 5 to 23, 2022. Poisson regression analysis was used. Among 338 participants, 122 (36.1%) had experienced an STF in the previous 6 months. Conducting very frequent, frequent, or occasional pest management was associated with a higher incidence rate ratio (IRR) of STFs than never or rarely pest management (adjusted IRR 1.93, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.23 to 3.04, p=0.004). People with marginal or unsatisfactory work break lengths had a higher incidence rate of STFs than those with satisfactory work breaks (adjusted IRR 1.40, 95% CI=1.03 to 1.89, p=0.030). We found that corn farm workers in our study often experienced STFs, which was associated with a high frequency of pest management practices and inadequate work breaks. Reducing the physical burden of pest management may be effective as an STF prevention strategy.

[Causes of Countermeasures Against Serious Accidents Caused by Health Hazards of Chemical Substances, Based on Cases of Occupational Accidents in Japan].

The purpose of this study was to summarize the typical and specific causes and risk reduction measures of serious accidents in Japan caused by chemical substances in terms of the 10 types of human health hazards in the UN GHS (Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals) classification. The list of "Cases of Major Accidents Caused by Chemical Substances" published on the "Safety in the Workplace Website" of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) was linked to the "Results of GHS Classification by the Government" of the National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE). Analysis was conducted by health hazards in order to obtain reference examples of measures taken against health hazards in response to the revision of the law on autonomous chemical substance management in 2022. Using the text mining tool KH Coder ver. Three using cluster analysis, we grouped causes and measures among serious disasters by health hazard, illustrated co-occurrence networks, and extracted typical examples of each in a co-occurrence network. Representative causes of and measures against occupational accidents caused by health hazardous properties were summarized from the extracted typical cases. Although few occupational accidents were caused by the health hazards of chemicals, when all health hazards were classified into acute toxicity, acute health hazard, and chronic health hazard, contact was a clear cause for many of the acute toxicity and acute health hazards, such as corrosiveness and sensitization. However, many occupational accidents were caused by the physical hazardous aspects of the chemical substances or by the safety aspects of the workplace. Causes of occupational accidents due to health hazards included unsafe behavior and unsafe conditions, or lack of understanding of the physicochemical properties of a substance and specific reactions such as mixing or hydrolysis of the substance. Typical risk reduction measures for health hazards included equipment to prevent human contact with health hazardous substances, systems to control unsafe behavior, promoting understanding of chemical reactions, and providing information about chemicals to all persons involved in testing, research, and subcontract work. The data of occupational accident cases of "death or more than 4 days lost from work" were used. Most of the cases were related to acute health hazards, but relatively few to chronic health hazards, and few occupational accidents were caused by health hazards. Most of the occupational accidents were caused by health hazards due to the physical hazards of chemical substances and inadequate workplace safety. In light of the above, it is necessary in autonomous chemical substance management to first take risk reduction measures for workplace safety and chemical physical hazards, then to prevent contact with acute toxicity and acute health hazards such as corrosiveness and sensitization, and, lastly, to take risk reduction measures for chronic health hazards, using allowable concentrations and controlled concentrations as indices.

Posteromedial Portal Technique With Bone-Patellar Tendon-Bone Graft for Inside-Out Revision of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction.

Bone-patellar tendon-bone (BTB) is a graft material used in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction. We describe creating a femoral tunnel using an inside-out posteromedial (PM) portal technique during anatomic double-bundle ACL reconstruction with a hamstring graft. We hypothesized that applying this femoral tunnel creation method to the revision ACL reconstruction using BTB would enable reconstruction in 1 stage. In this technique, an anteromedial, an anterolateral, and a PM portal are created to confirm the original ACL footprint and location and direction of the bone tunnel during primary reconstruction. The surgeon then drills from the PM portal, so that the femoral tunnel opening touches the posterior proximal articular cartilage margin in the ACL footprint. Even if the opening partially overlaps with the primary tunnel, it is possible to create a new tunnel with a different direction. Finally, the BTB graft is guided from the tibial tunnel to the femoral tunnel and fixed with interference screws. Intraoperative PM arthroscopic views can confirm that the femoral tunnel has been created, avoiding overlap, and that the revision ACL has been reconstructed. This procedure may be useful for 1-stage revision ACL reconstruction for reinjury after primary ACL reconstruction by other conventional procedures.

Identifying factors that inhibit or facilitate on-site implementation of chemical risk assessment at small and medium-sized companies.

The introduction and implementation of chemical risk assessment is difficult, especially at small and medium-sized manufacturing and construction companies. This study aimed to identify the factors that inhibit or facilitate such assessment. Twelve individuals in charge of risk assessment at one medium-sized client company and eight small and medium-sized contract companies and responsible for innovation in the manufacturing and construction industries were interviewed. The interview transcripts were analyzed via text mining using KH Corder ver. 3 and a co-occurrence network was used to identify the keywords' connections and each factor in consideration of the interviews. Six factors inhibited or facilitated risk assessment: (1) education on hazardous work in the workplace, (2) improvement suggestions and reduction measures from client and staff, (3) cooperation between employees and contractors in the workplace, (4) thoroughly explanation of SDS content for better understanding, (5) risk awareness based on accident examples, and (6) difficulties imagining the hazards of chemical substances. Factors (1), (2), (3), and (5) were positive, facilitating factors; (4) and (6) were negative, inhibiting factors. This study highlights that it is necessary to educate workers about chemical substance risks using safety data sheets and accident examples in chemical risk assessment.

[Survey on Preparedness, Concerns, and Support Demands for Autonomous Management of Chemical Substances].

The management of workplace chemicals shifted from a regulatory-based to a self-managed approach as of April 2023. To assess readiness, concerns, and necessary support for this change, a free-response questionnaire survey was conducted for the participants of the "Promoting self-management of chemicals in enterprises" seminar held by the Department of Occupational Health, Graduate School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, in January-February 2023. Text-mining using KH Coder (Ver.3) was conducted to investigate relationships between words that appeared in sentences using a co-occurrence network and hierarchical cluster analysis. From the questionnaire's description text, combinations of the terms "information" and "collection," "small and medium-sized" and "enterprise," and "chemical" and "substance" were extracted. Results suggest a need for "information gathering" and "support for small and medium-sized enterprises."

Landing Posture in Elite Female Athletes During a Drop Vertical Jump Before and After a High-Intensity Ergometer Fatigue Protocol: A Study of 20 Japanese Women's Soccer League Players.

Background: Even elite athletes, who usually show stable postural control, sometimes cannot control their posture after high-load training. This instability may contribute to anterior cruciate ligament injury. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the landing posture of elite female soccer players before and after a novel high-intensity fatigue-inducing exercise protocol. We hypothesized that the landing posture will change before versus after the fatigue protocol. Study Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Method: The study participants were 20 female elite soccer players. All athletes performed 3 drop vertical jumps (DVJs), pedaled an ergometer 8 times with full force for 10 seconds each (fatigue protocol), and then repeated the 3 DVJs. We measured and compared the athletes' blood lactate levels before and after the fatigue protocol, as well as the hip flexion, knee flexion, and ankle dorsiflexion angles and final landing posture during the DJVs. Results: Blood lactate levels increased significantly pre- to postprotocol (from 2.7 ± 1.9 to 15.0 ± 3.6 mmol/L; P < .001), while there were decreases in hip flexion angle (from 35.0° ± 11.2° to 22.4° ± 8.8°; P < .001) and ankle dorsiflexion angle (from 26.4° ± 3.9° to 20.0° ± 3.7°; P < .001). The number of athletes who could not maintain a stable DVJ final landing posture increased from 10% before the fatigue protocol to 70% after. Conclusion: The elite female athletes in our study showed significant decreases in hip flexion and ankle dorsiflexion angles in the DVJ landing after a fatigue-inducing protocol. Most elite athletes were unable to maintain a stable posture on the DVJ landing after the fatigue protocol. Clinical Relevance: This study advances our understanding of how elite athletes land in a fatigued state.

[Support Needed for the Transition From Legal System Management to Self-Controlled Management of Chemical Substances].

An open-ended questionnaire was administered to the participants of a six-part lecture series on self-controlled management of chemical substances regarding the support those participants would need when transitioning to that system, and the required elements of support were examined using a text-mining tool (KH Coder Ver. 3). The subjects were 59 persons who attended the lectures on an overview of self-controlled management of chemical substances and answered a questionnaire after the course. The lectures were organized by the Graduate School of Occupational Health, University of Occupational and Environmental Health from January-February 2022. The participants themselves indicated that they needed knowledge and up-to-date information on the revised law, as well as education about chemical substances. As for the support needed for individuals, the following were considered necessary: to provide support for education; management; information; the latest information; and education about the toxicity and dangers of chemical substances, which are necessary for education and chemical substance management in accordance with the revised law. As for the support needed for organizations, it was considered necessary to support the understanding of top management and the securing of necessary human resources.

[Current status and challenges of supervisory organizations' support for the health and safety of technical intern trainees: Focusing on collaboration with occupational health professionals].

OBJECTIVES: We aimed to clarify the current status and challenges of supervisory organizations' support for the health and safety of technical intern trainees in Japan. We also assessed the effectiveness of collaboration with occupational health professionals at a training site to investigate the potential for such collaboration to help solve related problems. METHODS: In October 2021, we distributed a questionnaire survey by postal mail to 3,262 supervisory organizations. We requested responses from those directly engaged in training technical intern trainees and those connected with training companies. We inquired regarding the frequency and difficulty of providing support for the health and safety of technical intern trainees (based on 22 survey items). Subsequently, we conducted a multiple logistic regression analysis to assess the association between collaboration with occupational health professionals and the difficulty of obtaining support. RESULTS: The analysis included 932 cases (response rate: 28.6%). Vietnam (76.6%) was the most frequent country of origin for trainees, and 10-49 (30.3%) was the most frequent range for the number of trainees. Over the preceding year, 17.0% of the organizations had collaborated with occupational health professionals at the training site. The most frequently indicated items on the survey were "explaining and interpretating for medical checkups," "providing traffic safety education and interpretation," and "accompanying and interpreting for health care facilities." Over 80% of the respondents answered that these actions were easy to implement. In contrast, only 30-40% of respondents answered that "counseling on mental health problems," "counseling on marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth," and "counseling on sexual harassment and power harassment" were easy to implement. The supervisory organizations that had collaborated with occupational health professionals tended to report that "providing traffic safety education and interpretation" (p = .049) and "providing health and safety education and interpretation" (p = .072) were easier than they were for organizations that had no support from occupational health professionals. CONCLUSIONS: The supervisory organizations surveyed faced challenges in dealing with mental health problems, marriage, pregnancy, childbirth, and harassment of technical intern trainees. Those organizations that collaborated with occupational health professionals found it easier to provide education on traffic safety and occupational safety and health education. Thus, the presence of a person in charge of health and safety in the planning of training programs and opportunities for education was considered important for promoting collaboration between supervisory organizations and occupational health professionals.

Capability of Relative Odor Level Monitors to Measure the Odor of Thirdhand Smoke.

We investigated the probability of measuring the odor of thirdhand smoke using four odor-measuring monitors and three gas detector tubes. We measured the changes in tobacco odor on paper towels and cloth products over time. The results of the measurements were plotted against time to obtain an exponential approximation curve. The coefficient of x and the R2 values were calculated from this curve. The odor indicated by four types of odor-measuring monitors and three types of gas detector tubes decreased exponentially over time. The curves obtained from all measuring devices had coefficients of ex between -0.001 and -0.021, and R2 values of >0.8. The reproducibility of measuring relative odor levels through all measuring devices was high, suggesting a good capability of measuring thirdhand smoke odor. Two different odor-level standard gases can be used for the calibration of the regression curve for each monitor.

Risk Factors for Occupational Falls among Middle-aged and Elderly Farm Workers in Nan Province, Thailand.

As the workforce ages, the incidence of occupational falls is increasing. However, risk factors for occupational falls in farm workers have not been evaluated in detail. The current study sought to identify the risk factors for occupational falls among middle-aged and elderly farm workers in Thailand. We conducted a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire among 419 farm workers aged ≥40 years in Nan province, Thailand. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the factors associated with occupational falls. Occupational falls were experienced by 25.5% of participants. Men had 2.22 times higher odds of occupational falls than women (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.19-4.13). Participants aged ≥60 years were less likely to experience occupational falls compared with those aged 40-49 years (odds ratio [OR]: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.20-0.96). Fruit growers were 2.72 times more likely to experience occupational falls than rice growers (95% CI: 1.33-5.55). Individuals with body mass index ≥30 kg/m2 and over were 3.05 times more likely to experience occupational falls than those with body mass index <25 kg/m2 (95% CI: 1.11-8.40). The sex- and age-related trends in fall risk may indicate that elderly individuals and women in agriculture tend to be assigned lighter duties through work accommodation. To prevent falls during agricultural work, it is necessary to pay attention to farm-specific tasks and work environments, such as working at a height in fruit cultivation, as well as instability of walking caused by obesity.

Factors associated with occupational accidents during part-time work among international students in Japan.

This study investigated the status of and risk factors for occupational accidents occurring during part-time work among international students in Japan. In total, 390 international students who had registered with an online survey company were invited to participate in a cross-sectional study using an online self-administered questionnaire in October 2020. Multiple regression analysis was performed to evaluate factors associated with accidents with absence from work. Among 311 participants, 126 (40.5%) had experienced an occupational accident at their part-time job in the past year, and 27 (8.7%) had lost working days because of accidents. The likelihood of accident with work absence was significantly higher among those with high income (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 4.39, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.57-12.24) and language barrier (adjusted OR = 2.37, 95% CI: 1.03-5.47). International students experienced occupational accidents relatively frequently. These results provide insight to guide occupational safety measures for migrants.

Association between physical capacity and occupational falls among middle-aged and older farmers in Thailand: Using the self-check risk assessment tool in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: Declining physical capacity caused by aging increases the risk of occupational falls on the same level and to lower levels. In emerging countries in Asia, the development of a program for older farmers to assess their risk of occupational falls is valuable. The current study aimed to evaluate the relationship between physical capacity and experience of occupational falls among middle-aged and older Thai farmers. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 419 Thai farmers aged 40 years and over during March and April, 2021. For the assessment of physical capacity, we used the Self-Check Risk Assessment of Falls and Other Accidents in the Workplace tool developed in Japan, consisting of five physical test components. Multiple logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic curves were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: The results revealed that 25.5% of participants had experienced occupational falls in the past 12 months. For each of the five physical test components, there was no significant association between physical capacity and experience of occupational falls. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve was less than 0.60 for each of the five physical test components. A similar trend was observed when the analysis was limited to participants aged 50 years and over. CONCLUSIONS: The current study did not reveal any associations between physical capacity in each test and experience of occupational falls among middle-aged and older Thai farmers. Because the mechanisms underlying occupational falls are complex, multiple intervention approaches may be important for preventing accidents.

Characteristics of Adsorption of Organic Solvent Vapors by a New Porous Carbon Material Made of Rice Husk as Measured by Breakthrough Curves.

We investigated the adsorbed amount of organic solvent vapors and adsorption rate of a new porous carbon material made from rice husk (rice husk activated carbon) in comparison with those of coconut shell activated carbon by the breakthrough curve. The adsorbed amount on the rice husk activated carbon and that on the coconut shell activated carbon were 81.3 ±â€¯3.3 mg/g and 71.7 ±â€¯5.0 mg/g for acetone, 8.0 ±â€¯1.7 mg/g and 6.3 ±â€¯0.2 mg/g for methanol, 196.8 ±â€¯8.8 mg/g and 262.8 ±â€¯10.4 mg/g for ethyl acetate, 234.8 ±â€¯11.9 mg/g, and 364.6 ±â€¯43.8 mg/g for toluene, respectively. These results suggest that the amount of organic solvent vapors adsorbed per unit weight of rice husk activated carbon is slightly larger for high polar compounds and is smaller for low polar compounds than that of coconut shell activated carbon. We compared the adsorption rate of the two materials by using the slope of the breakthrough curves. Even though there are some limitations to the characteristics of the new porous carbon material, it may be possible to use rice husk activated carbon as an alternative to coconut shell activated carbon in occupational and environmental measures.

Working Conditions and Urinalysis Dipstick Testing among Female Rice Farmers: A Preliminary Cross-Sectional Study.

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess working conditions and renal function among female rice farmers in Nan Province, Thailand. Purposive random sampling was used to select participants who met the inclusion criteria. Data were collected from 65 female rice farmers using in-depth interviews. A walk-through survey was performed to examine hazards in the rice farm and a dipstick test was used for urinalysis. The results demonstrated that all rice farming stages contained risks from physical, chemical, biological and ergonomic hazards and that no measures had been implemented to protect participants' health from these risks. The screening test results showed low urinary pH (5-6) in 54 women (83.0%), but high urinary specific gravity (1.030) in 25 women (38.5%). Participants' urine contained leukocytes in 15 women (23.1%), protein in 14 women (21.5%) and blood in 13 women (20%). This study results suggest that farming activities affect female rice farmers' health and safety. Urinalysis dipstick tests, which can be administered at the local public health promoting hospital, should be used to assess the occupational health status. The results will be useful for health surveillance and follow-up of the participants. These preliminary findings need to be confirmed in a larger study including non-farmers.

Adjustable-Loop Devices Promote Graft Revascularization in the Femoral Tunnel After ACL Reconstruction: Comparison With Fixed-Loop Devices Using Magnetic Resonance Angiography.

BACKGROUND: Hamstring tendon grafts are usually fixed in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using either an adjustable-loop device (ALD) or a fixed-loop device (FLD). The contact area between the graft and the tunnel wall is different between the 2 devices. PURPOSE: To determine using magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) whether ALD and FLD result in different blood flow of the graft in the femoral tunnel during the early postoperative period. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: Between 2008 and 2018, a total of 42 patients (17 men and 25 women) underwent MRA at 3 months after ACL reconstruction. All surgical procedures were performed using semitendinosus tendon autografts folded into 4 strands. Overall, 23 patients underwent the FLD procedure and 19 patients underwent the ALD procedure. The signal intensity of the superior portion of the graft in the femoral tunnel was evaluated using transverse MRA images perpendicular to the femoral tunnel axis. RESULTS: MRA images showed high signal intensity in the superior portion of the graft in the femoral tunnel in 94.7% and 60.9% of the ALD patients and FLD patients, respectively, a statistically significant difference (P = .03). CONCLUSION: MRA images at 3 months after surgery revealed that blood flow reached the superior end of the tendon graft in the femoral tunnel in more patients who underwent ACL reconstruction with an ALD compared with an FLD.

[A competency domains-items set for occupational hygienists in Japan].

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to summarize a combined competency domains and items set for occupational hygienists in Japan since there is a lack of such a set due to the existence of several national certification specialists in the field of occupational hygiene. METHODS: A literature search, Kitagawa Jiro's (KJ) method study, Delphi method study, and a questionnaire survey were utilized. The domains, roles, knowledge, and skills included in the home pages and reports of representative organizations in the USA, UK, and Japan, and those in papers found through Google Scholar were compared and rearranged to about 150 items. From these, occupational hygiene competency domains and items were discussed and selected by five occupational hygiene specialists using the KJ method and prioritized by 13 occupational hygiene specialists using the Delphi method. Additionally, responses of 53 union members of occupational hygiene specialists from a university were obtained by a questionnaire survey. RESULTS: Ten occupational competency domains and 147 items were identified through the literature search, 10 domains and 135 items through the KJ method, six domains and 63 items through the Delphi method, and lastly, five domains and 51 items were identified through the questionnaire survey. The five domains included (1) discovering problems and potential developments and making decisions, (2) solving problems and promoting developmental occupational hygiene, (3) communicating with stakeholders and recovering in an emergency, (4) empowering organizations to which you belong, and (5) educating and facilitating workers. CONCLUSIONS: Although the 53 subjects in the questionnaire survey were predominantly 20 to 30 years old and more than half of the 13 Delphi method participants were relatively old veterans, there was a positive correlation between the evaluation of 63 items by both methods. These results suggest that the occupational hygiene competency set of five domains and 51 items obtained in this study is a combined competency set that is representative of Japan.

Revascularization to the bone tunnel wall after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction may relate to the distance from the vessels.

PURPOSE: We use magnetic resonance angiography to evaluate the difference of vascular ingrowth to the bone tunnel on the anterior and posterior walls quantitatively after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred patients underwent anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with multi-stranded semitendinosus tendons. They were retrospectively divided into those who underwent magnetic resonance angiography 2, 3, 4 to 6, and ≥ 7 months after surgery. The mean signal-to-noise ratios of the bone tunnel walls in the femur and tibia from the digital data were measured and compared for the anterior and posterior walls. RESULTS: The signal-to-noise ratio of the posterior wall of the femoral bone tunnel was significantly higher than that of the anterior wall in each group. On the tibial side, the signal-to-noise ratio of the anterior wall was significantly higher than that of the posterior wall at ≥4 months after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the blood flow after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction to the femoral bone tunnel is maintained from the posterior wall, and is maintained to the tibial side from the anterior wall 4 months postoperatively. Revascularization to the bone tunnel wall after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction may relate to the distance from the vessels.

Outcomes of arthroscopic repair using the all-inside inter-leaf vertical suture technique for horizontal meniscal tears sustained in sports.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the outcomes of arthroscopic repair using the all-inside inter-leaf vertical suture arthroscopic technique for sports-related horizontal meniscal tears.The inter-leaf vertical suture procedure was performed to repair sports-related horizontal tears in the middle and posterior segments of the medial (11 cases) and lateral (2 cases) menisci in 13 patients (mean age: 30 ±â€Š14 years). Pre- and post-operative Barrett criteria, Lysholm scores, and patient ability to resume sports were assessed. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) grades and signal intensity changes near the joint capsule were evaluated in the 9 cases among which pre- and post-operative MRI images were available.All Barrett criteria items were negative following surgery; Lysholm scores increased from 70.2 ±â€Š13.1 before surgery to 98.9 ±â€Š2.64 after surgery (P < .01). All patients were able to resume their sport. Preoperative MRI grade of tears was 3 for all patients; postoperative MRI grades were 1 in 3 cases, 2 in 4 cases, and 3 in 2 cases (P < .05). Importantly, MRI signal intensity at the repaired menisci near the joint capsule was reduced in 8 of these 9 cases postoperatively.The inter-leaf vertical suture procedure is associated with good outcomes for horizontal tears in the middle and posterior segments of the medial and lateral menisci. The procedure is useful and convenient.