Primary patient-relevant outcomes of the trial at 60 month follow-up.
| Primary outcomes (adjusted) | APM (n=68) | Placebo surgery (n=74) | Between-group difference in improvement from baseline |
| WOMET score* | 84.3 (80.1 to 88.6) | 84.6 (80.5 to 88.7) | −1.7 (−7.7 to 4.3) |
| Lysholm knee score† | 83.7 (80.3 to 87.1) | 85.8 (82.6 to 89.0) | −2.1 (−6.8 to 2.6) |
| Knee pain after exercise‡ | 2.0 (1.5 to 2.6) | 2.2 (1.6 to 2.7) | −0.04 (−0.81 to 0.72) |
Values are presented as means (95% CI).
*The Western Ontario Meniscal Evaluation Tool (WOMET) contains 16 items addressing three domains: 9 items addressing physical symptoms; 4 items addressing disabilities with regard to sports, recreation, work, and lifestyle; and 3 items addressing emotions. The score indicates the percentage of a normal score; therefore, 100 is the best possible score, and 0 is the worst possible score.
†The Lysholm knee score is based on an eight-item questionnaire designed to evaluate knee function and symptoms in activities of daily living. Scores range from 0 to 100; higher scores indicate less severe symptoms.
‡Knee pain after exercise (during the preceding week) was assessed on a rating scale of 0 to 10, with 0 denoting no pain and 10 denoting extreme pain.
APM, arthroscopic partial meniscectomy.