Patients with degenerative or traumatic meniscal tears are at high risk of developing knee osteoarthritis. We investigated if younger (≤40 years) and older (>40 years) patients with preoperative mechanical symptoms (MS) improved more in patient-reported outcomes after meniscal surgery than those without MS.
Patients from Knee Arthroscopy Cohort Southern Denmark (KACS) undergoing arthroscopic surgery for a meniscal tear completed online questionnaires before surgery, and at 12 and 52 weeks follow-up. Questionnaires included self-reported presence of MS (i.e., sensation of catching and/or locking) and the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS). We analyzed between-group differences in change in KOOS
150 younger patients (mean age 31 (SD 7), 67% men) and 491 older patients (mean age 54 (SD 9), 53% men) constituted the baseline cohorts. Patients with MS generally had worse self-reported outcomes before surgery. At 52 weeks follow-up, younger patients with preoperative MS had improved more in KOOS
Younger patients (≤40 years) with preoperative MS experienced greater improvements after arthroscopic surgery compared to younger patients without MS. Our observational study result needs to be confirmed in randomized trials.