title: Five-year outcome of 13 patients with an initially undiagnosed anterior cruciate ligament rupture.
abstract: We evaluated retrospectively the 5-year outcome of 13 patients with an initially undiagnosed and thus untreated anterior cruciate ligament rupture. At follow-up, these patients experienced decreased knee function and moderate to severe knee instability. They had attempted to reduce their discomfort by decreasing their activity level during the follow-up period. Immediately after the 5-year examination, 6 of the patients decided to have a late reconstruction of the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament. These results agree with previous reports of the natural course of anterior cruciate ligament ruptures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Trondheim University Hospital, Norway.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Grøntvedt
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heir
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rossvoll
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Engebretsen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament / Q000601:surgery*; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012421:Rupture; D016896:Treatment Outcome