Knee Arthroscopy Cohort Southern Denmark (KACS): protocol for a prospective cohort study

Abstract

BackgroundMeniscus surgery is a high-volume surgery carried out on 1 million patients annually in the USA. The procedure is conducted on an outpatient basis and the patients leave the hospital a few hours after surgery. A critical oversight of previous studies is their failure to account for the type of meniscal tears. Meniscus tears can be categorised as traumatic or non-traumatic. Traumatic tears (TT) are usually observed in younger, more active individuals in an otherwise ‘healthy’ meniscus and joint. Non-traumatic tears (NTT) (ie, degenerative tears) are typically observed in the middle-aged (35–55 years) and older population but the aetiology is largely unclear. Knowledge about the potential difference of the effect of arthroscopic meniscus surgery on patient symptoms between patients with traumatic and NTT is sparse. Furthermore, little is known about the natural time course of patient perceived pain, function and quality of life after meniscus surgery and factors affecting these outcomes. The aim of this prospective cohort study is to investigate the natural time course of patient-reported outcomes in patients undergoing meniscus surgery, with particular emphasis on the role of type of symptom onset.Methods/designThis prospective cohort study enrol patients assigned for meniscus surgery. At the baseline (PRE surgery), patient characteristics are assessed using an email-based questionnaire also comprising several validated questionnaires assessing general health, knee-specific characteristics and patient's expectations of the surgery. Follow-up will be conducted at 12 and 52 weeks after meniscus surgery. The major outcomes will be differences in changes, from before to 52 weeks after surgery, in each of the five domains on the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) between patients undergoing surgery for traumatic compared with non-traumatic meniscus tears.DisseminationThe study findings will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and presented at national and international conferences.Trial registration numberClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01871272.

Structural pathology is not related to patient-reported pain and function in patients undergoing meniscal surgery

“…Participants from the Knee Arthroscopy Cohort Southern Denmark (KACS)13 with baseline assessment of patient-reported outcomes and a verified meniscal tear at surgery. KACS is a prospective cohort study following patients recruited between 1 February 2013 and 31 January 2014 undergoing knee arthroscopy for a meniscal tear at four different public hospitals in Denmark.…”

Patient reported outcomes in patients undergoing arthroscopic partial meniscectomy for traumatic or degenerative meniscal tears: comparative prospective cohort study

“…22 KACS is a prospective cohort following adults undergoing knee arthroscopy for meniscal tears. Participants were recruited at four different public hospitals in Denmark between 1 February 2013 and 31 January 2014, and at one hospital (one of the original four hospitals) from 1 February 2014 to 31 January 2015.…”

Conundrum of mechanical knee symptoms: signifying feature of a meniscal tear?

“…14 In addition, we also included the patients who replied to the baseline questionnaire but had no meniscal tear at knee arthroscopy (which were excluded and not followed up in the KACS cohort). Patients were consecutively recruited at four public hospitals in Denmark between 1 February 2013 and 31 January 2014, and at one of the four hospitals in the period from 1 February 2014 to 31 January 2015.…”

“…Ethics approvalThe Regional Scientific Ethics Committee of Southern Denmark waived the need for ethical approval after reviewing the outline of KACS 14…”