title: Risk of Secondary Injury in Younger Athletes After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.
abstract: Injury to the ipsilateral graft used for reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or a new injury to the contralateral ACL are disastrous outcomes after successful ACL reconstruction (ACLR), rehabilitation, and return to activity. Studies reporting ACL reinjury rates in younger active populations are emerging in the literature, but these data have not yet been comprehensively synthesized.
  
  
  
  To provide a current review of the literature to evaluate age and activity level as the primary risk factors in reinjury after ACLR.
  
  
  
  Systematic review and meta-analysis.
  
  
  
  A systematic review of the literature was conducted via searches in PubMed (1966 to July 2015) and EBSCO host (CINAHL, Medline, SPORTDiscus [1987 to July 2015]). After the search and consultation with experts and rating of study quality, 19 articles met inclusion for review and aggregation. Population demographic data and total reinjury (ipsilateral and contralateral) rate data were recorded from each individual study and combined using random-effects meta-analyses. Separate meta-analyses were conducted for the total population data as well as the following subsets: young age, return to sport, and young age + return to sport.
  
  
  
  Overall, the total second ACL reinjury rate was 15%, with an ipsilateral reinjury rate of 7% and contralateral injury rate of 8%. The secondary ACL injury rate (ipsilateral + contralateral) for patients younger than 25 years was 21%. The secondary ACL injury rate for athletes who return to a sport was also 20%. Combining these risk factors, athletes younger than 25 years who return to sport have a secondary ACL injury rate of 23%.
  
  
  
  This systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrates that younger age and a return to high level of activity are salient factors associated with secondary ACL injury. These combined data indicate that nearly 1 in 4 young athletic patients who sustain an ACL injury and return to high-risk sport will go on to sustain another ACL injury at some point in their career, and they will likely sustain it early in the return-to-play period. The high rate of secondary injury in young athletes who return to sport after ACLR equates to a 30 to 40 times greater risk of an ACL injury compared with uninjured adolescents. These data indicate that activity modification, improved rehabilitation and return-to-play guidelines, and the use of integrative neuromuscular training may help athletes more safely reintegrate into sport and reduce second injury in this at-risk population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Amelia J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Wiggins
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Ravi K
authors.initials: RK
authors.lastname: Grandhi
authors.affiliation: College of Medicine, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Daniel K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Division of Sports Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Denver
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stanfield
authors.affiliation: Wellington Orthopaedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Mercy Health, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.
authors.forename: Kate E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.affiliation: School of Allied Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, Waltham, Massachusetts, USA greg.myer@cchmc.org.
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Myer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000367:Age Factors; D000070598:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D059549:Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction / Q000534:rehabilitation; D056352:Athletes; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D000068958:Return to Sport; D012307:Risk Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: ACL injury; ACL revision; knee injury; knee injury prevention