Background: Although comparable clinical and functional outcomes have been reported after nonsurgical and surgical anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) treatment, few studies have investigated the effects of early versus late ACL reconstruction with initial rehabilitation. Purpose: To determine patient-reported knee function in patients who initially undergo nonreconstructive treatment after an ACL injury but who later choose to undergo ACL reconstruction as compared with (1) patients undergoing ACL reconstruction close to the index injury and (2) patients treated nonreconstructively at 1 to 10 years of follow-up. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: Results from the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) were extracted from the Swedish National Knee Ligament Registry for patients treated with nonreconstruction, early ACL reconstruction, and initial nonreconstruction but subsequent ACL reconstruction (crossover group). The KOOS4 (a mean of 4 KOOS subscales) was analyzed cross-sectionally at baseline and at the 1-, 2-, 5-, and 10-year follow-ups. Additionally, the Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS) was applied to all KOOS subscales from baseline to the 10-year follow-up. Results: A total of 1,074 crossover, 484 nonreconstruction, and 20,352 early ACL reconstruction cases were included. The crossover group reported lower KOOS4 values than the group undergoing early ACL reconstruction at baseline and at all follow-ups (mean difference [95% CI]): baseline, −6.5 (−8.0 to −5.0); 1 year, −9.3 (−10.9 to −7.7); 2 years, −4.8 (−6.3 to −3.2); 5 years, −6.1 (−8.8 to −3.4); and 10 years, −10.9 (−16.3 to −5.2). Additionally, a smaller proportion of the crossover cohort achieved a PASS on KOOS subscales at baseline and through the 1-, 2-, 5-, and 10-year follow-ups as compared with the early ACL reconstruction cohort. No differences were observed between crossover and nonreconstruction cases on either the KOOS4 or the PASS at any follow-up. Conclusion: A greater proportion of patients treated with early ACL reconstruction reported acceptable knee function and superior overall knee function as compared with patients who decided to cross over from nonreconstructive treatment to ACL reconstruction.

ObjectivesTo compare the proportion of patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury reporting an acceptable symptom state, between non-surgical and surgical treatment during a 10-year follow-up.MethodsData were extracted from the Swedish National Knee Ligament Registry. Exceeding the Patient Acceptable Symptom State (PASS) for the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) was the primary outcome. The PASS and KOOS4 (aggregated KOOS without the activities of daily living (ADL) subscale) were compared cross-sectionally at baseline and 1, 2, 5 and 10 years after ACL injury, where patients treated non-surgically were matched with the maximum number of patients with ACL reconstruction for age, sex and activity at injury.ResultsThe non-surgical group consisted of 982 patients, who were each matched against 9 patients treated with ACL reconstruction (n=8,838). A greater proportion of patients treated with ACL reconstruction exceeded the PASS in KOOS pain, ADL, sports and recreation, and quality of life compared with patients treated non-surgically at all follow-ups. With respect to quality of life, significantly more patients undergoing ACL reconstruction achieved a PASS compared with patients receiving non-surgical treatment at all follow-ups except at baseline, with differences ranging between 11% and 25%; 1 year −25.4 (−29.1; −21.7), 2 years −16.9 (−21.2; −12.5), 5 years −11.0 (−16.9; −5.1) and 10 years −24.8 (−36.0; −13.6). The ACL-reconstructed group also reported statistically greater KOOS4 at all follow-ups.ConclusionA greater proportion of patients treated with ACL reconstruction report acceptable knee function, including higher quality of life than patients treated non-surgically at cross-sectional follow-ups up to 10 years after the treatment of an ACL injury.