Summary

The majority of patients (72%) undergoing arthroscopic meniscus repair achieved benefit within 6 months of surgery (overall median: 5.3 months), with diminishing proportions at later timepoints.

Abstract

Purpose

To comprehensively define the time required to achieve outcomes (CSOs) after arthroscopic meniscal repair (AMR). The primary outcome was to identify an evidence-based timepoint for functional recovery, including the time needed to attain minimally clinically important difference (MCID) and patient acceptable symptomatic state (PASS) for isolated AMR.

Methods

Patients who underwent isolated AMR between 2015 and 2021 were collected. Those with completed preoperative and at least 1 post-operative (6-month, 1 year, and 2 years) Patient-Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs), including International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Physical Function (PROMIS PF), or Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) were included. Exclusion criteria included patients with significant concomitant ligament procedures, concomitant meniscectomies, or prior ipsilateral knee surgery. MCID and PASS for each PROM were identified from prior literature and utilized as a threshold needed to attain functional recovery. The time needed to achieve CSO was then calculated and plotted using Kaplan-Meier survival analysis.

Results

Of the 71 included patients (33.8% female, age: 30±14.9 years), 69 patients had completed IKDC forms, and 41 had completed PROMIS PF forms. Patients attained IDKC achievement rates of 84% for MCID and 68% for PASS, and PROMIS PF achievement rates of 80.5% for MCID and 78% for PASS. Median achievement time across all surveys (IKDC, PROMIS PF, and KOOS) ranged between 5.27 - 5.31 months for MCID, and between 5.21–5.40 months for PASS. Averages for achievement time for MCID ranged from 6.28–8.20 months, and for PASS from 6.42 – 9.51 months, in respective PRO surveys.

Conclusions

The majority of patients (72%) undergoing AMR achieved benefit within 6 months of surgery (overall median: 5.3 months), with diminishing proportions at later timepoints. The timeline for achieving improvement that was established by this study may aid in setting patient expectations and designing future outcome studies involving AMR.