Rate of knee cartilage loss after partial meniscectomy.
OBJECTIVE
Surgical removal of the meniscus of the knee is thought to be a risk factor for later appearance of knee osteoarthritis (OA). We examined whether there is a difference in cartilage loss in those who undergo a partial meniscectomy compared to healthy controls.


METHODS
Eight patients who underwent a meniscectomy (5 partial medial, 3 partial lateral) and 13 controls with normal knee radiographs and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) had an MRI at baseline and at a mean 28.6 +/- 7.6 months followup. Articular cartilage volumes were determined by processing images acquired in the sagittal plane using T1 weighted fat saturation MRI on an independent work station.


RESULTS
The mean +/- SD of percentage rates of cartilage loss from baseline volume were 4.1 +/- 2.8% per year for the meniscectomy subjects and -2.3 +/- 3.0% per year for the controls (difference 6.5% per year, 95% CI 3.7-9.3% per year; p < 0.001). After adjustment for age, body mass index, and sex the difference increased slightly to 6.9% per year (95% CI 3.4-10.3%; p = 0.001).


CONCLUSIONS
This study suggests that significant rates of cartilage loss are seen in subjects post partial meniscectomy compared with healthy controls. This may be a useful model in which to examine therapies to prevent OA.
Cicuttini
Flavia M
FM
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University Medical School, and Alfred Hospital, Prahran, Victoria, Australia. flavia.cicuttini@med.monash.edu.au
Forbes
Andrew
A
Yuanyuan
Wang
W
Rush
Glen
G
Stuckey
Stephen L
SL
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001182:Arthroscopy; D002357:Cartilage Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002358:Cartilage, Articular / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007719:Knee Joint; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D012016:Reference Values; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index