The long-term consequence of anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus injuries: osteoarthritis

Lohmander LS, Englund PM, Dahl LL, Roos EM · The American Journal of Sports Medicine

On average ~50% of patients with an ACL or meniscus tear have knee OA 10–20 years later, typically in their 30s–40s, across 127 ACL follow-up reports (individual rates 10–90%) and 41 meniscus reports (odds ratio about 10 against uninjured knees); reconstruction has not been shown to prevent it, and reported OA rates after autograft reconstruction have not fallen with year of publication. In female soccer players 12 years after ACL rupture, 42% had symptomatic radiographic OA and 75% significant symptoms, with no difference by reconstruction.

Population

Young, often athletic patients after ACL or meniscus injury

Intervention

Knee joint injury (with common continued sports exposure)

Comparator

Uninjured knees

Limitations

Narrative review of observational data, which the authors say was too poorly reported to pool; cannot apportion risk between the index injury, surgery, and subsequent loading decisions. The filed text is the authors' accepted manuscript from a university repository; no funding statement.