title: Signs of knee osteoarthritis common in 620 patients undergoing arthroscopic surgery for meniscal tear.
abstract: Background and purpose - Recent evidence has questioned the effect of arthroscopic knee surgery for middle-aged and older patients with degenerative meniscal tears with or without concomitant radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA). We investigated the prevalence of early or more established knee OA and patients' characteristics in a cohort of patients undergoing arthroscopic surgery for a meniscal tear. Patients and methods - 641 patients assigned for arthroscopy on suspicion of meniscus tear were consecutively recruited from February 2013 through January 2015. Of these, 620 patients (mean age 49 (18-77) years, 57% men) with full datasets available were included in the present study. Prior to surgery, patients completed questionnaires regarding onset of symptoms, duration of symptoms, and mechanical symptoms along with the knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS). At arthroscopy, the operating surgeon recorded information about meniscal pathology and cartilage damage. Early or more established knee OA was defined as the combination of self-reported frequent knee pain, cartilage damage, and the presence of degenerative meniscal tissue. Results - 43% of patients (269 of 620) had early or more established knee OA. Of these, a large proportion had severe cartilage lesions with almost half having a severe cartilage lesion in at least 1 knee compartment. Interpretation - Based on a definition including frequent knee pain, cartilage damage, and degenerative meniscal tissue, early or more established knee OA was present in 43% of patients undergoing knee arthroscopy for meniscal tear.
authors: a Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics , University of Southern Denmark , Odense , Denmark.
authors: Kenneth
authors: K
authors: Pihl
authors: b Lund University , Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Orthopedics , Lund , Sweden.|f Clinical Epidemiology Research and Training Unit , Boston University School of Medicine , Boston , MA , USA.
authors: Martin
authors: M
authors: Englund
authors: b Lund University , Faculty of Medicine, Department of Clinical Sciences Lund, Orthopedics , Lund , Sweden.
authors: L Stefan
authors: LS
authors: Lohmander
authors: c Department of Orthopedics and Traumatology , Odense University Hospital , Odense.
authors: Uffe
authors: U
authors: Jørgensen
authors: d Department of Orthopedics , Lillebaelt Hospital , Kolding.
authors: Nis
authors: N
authors: Nissen
authors: e Department of Orthopedics , Lillebaelt Hospital , Vejle , Denmark.
authors: Jeppe
authors: J
authors: Schjerning
authors: a Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics , University of Southern Denmark , Odense , Denmark.
authors: Jonas B
authors: JB
authors: Thorlund
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001182:Arthroscopy / Q000379:methods*; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011859:Radiography; D000070600:Tibial Meniscus Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult