TY - JOUR T1 - Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy versus physical therapy for traumatic meniscal tears in a young study population: a randomised controlled trial JF - British Journal of Sports Medicine JO - Br J Sports Med SP - 870 LP - 876 DO - 10.1136/bjsports-2021-105059 VL - 56 IS - 15 AU - Sabine J A van der Graaff AU - Susanne M Eijgenraam AU - Duncan E Meuffels AU - Eline M van Es AU - Jan A N Verhaar AU - Dirk Jan Hofstee AU - Kiem Gie Auw Yang AU - Julia C A Noorduyn AU - Ewoud R A van Arkel AU - Igor C J B van den Brand AU - Rob P A Janssen AU - Wai-Yan Liu AU - Sita M A Bierma-Zeinstra AU - Max Reijman Y1 - 2022/08/01 UR - http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/56/15/870.abstract N2 - Objective To compare outcomes from arthroscopic partial meniscectomy versus physical therapy in young patients with traumatic meniscal tears.Methods We conducted a multicentre, open-labelled, randomised controlled trial in patients aged 18–45 years, with a recent onset, traumatic, MRI-verified, isolated meniscal tear without knee osteoarthritis. Patients were randomised to arthroscopic partial meniscectomy or standardised physical therapy with an optional delayed arthroscopic partial meniscectomy after 3-month follow-up. The primary outcome was the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) score (best 100, worst 0) at 24 months, which measures patients’ perception of symptoms, knee function and ability to participate in sports activities.Results Between 2014 and 2018, 100 patients were included (mean age 35.1 (SD 8.1), 76% male, 34 competitive or elite athletes). Forty-nine were randomised to arthroscopic partial meniscectomy and 51 to physical therapy. In the physical therapy group, 21 patients (41%) received delayed arthroscopic partial meniscectomy during the follow-up period. In both groups, improvement in IKDC scores was clinically relevant during follow-up compared with baseline scores. At 24 months mean (95% CI) IKDC scores were 78 (71 to 84) out of 100 points in the arthroscopic partial meniscectomy group and 78 (71 to 84) in the physical therapy group with a between group difference of 0.1 (95% CI −7.6 to 7.7) points out of 100.Conclusions In this trial involving young patients with isolated traumatic meniscal tears, early arthroscopic partial meniscectomy was not superior to a strategy of physical therapy with optional delayed arthroscopic partial meniscectomy at 24-month follow-up.Trial registration https://www.trialregister.nl/trials.Data are available on reasonable request. Individual de-identified participant data that underlie the results reported in this paper (text, tables, figures and appendices) and the study protocol will be shared if requested. Data will be available beginning 12 months and ending 5 years following publication of this paper. Data will be available for researchers who provide a methodologically sound scientific proposal, which has been approved by an ethical committee. Proof of the latter should be provided. Analyses should achieve the aims as reported in the approved proposal. Proposals for data should be directed to m.reijman@erasmusmc.nl. ER -