title: Operative versus conservative treatment for patellar dislocation: a meta-analysis of 7 randomized controlled trials.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Patellofemoral pathology is common, and patellofemoral dislocation mainly affects adolescents and young adults. We conducted a meta-analysis exclusively of RCTs to compare the clinical outcomes of patellar dislocation patients managed operatively versus non-operatively.
  
  
  METHODS
  After systematic review of electronic databases and websites, a total of 7 RCTs reporting data on 402 subjects were included. The methodological quality of the literature was assessed using the PEDro critical appraisal tool. Mean differences (MDs) and risk ratio (RR) were calculated for the pooled effects. Heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Data synthesis showed a lower rate of recurrent patellar dislocation post-treatment in patients managed operatively compared to non-operatively (P=0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest a difference in outcomes between the treatment strategies. However the limited number of studies and high risk of inherent bias indicate that future studies involving more patients in better-designed randomized controlled trials will be required.
  The virtual slide(s) for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/8011948721221355.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 301 Yanchang Middle Road, Shanghai 200072, China. ghahayeah@163.com.
authors.forename: Biao
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.forename: Xing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Heng'an
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ge
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qing Sun
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D006801:Humans; D016017:Odds Ratio; D019637:Orthopedic Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects; D031222:Patellar Dislocation / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery / Q000628:therapy*; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D012008:Recurrence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome