title: Non-operative management of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the general population.
abstract: The operative treatment of lesions of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in athletes has been widely advocated and performed. We have investigated the outcome of non-operative management in a lower-demand, general population. We reviewed a consecutive group of 228 patients, which excluded professional and high-level athletes, for two to 12 years after an ACL lesion had been diagnosed by arthroscopy. There was a low incidence of secondary ACL and meniscal surgery, 5.4% and 3.5% respectively, and all these procedures were performed during the first three years after the ACL injury. We studied a subgroup of 109 patients with follow-up of at least five years (mean 8.5 years) and evaluated them using the IKDC score. The general outcome was reasonably satisfactory, with 23% in grade A, 50% in grade B, 21% in grade C and only 6.4% in grade D. We found no statistically significant prognostic effect within this group as regards age, activity levels, or the incidence of associated lesions.
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: P P
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Casteleyn
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Handelberg
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D001182:Arthroscopy; D001915:Braces / Q000592:standards*; D002370:Casts, Surgical / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011379:Prognosis; D016019:Survival Analysis; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy