Patients receiving a meniscus implant rather than nonsurgical care may experience greater re- lief from persistent or recurrent pain following arthroscopic partial meniscectomy, according to a study presented at the combined annual meeting of the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine and Arthroscopy Association of North America. Researchers examined whether a meniscus implant is superior to nonsurgical care for knee pain following partial meniscectomy. Changes in composite measures of knee-relat- ed pain, function, and quality of life were eval- uated at 2 years follow-up among 242 patients treated in two trials: a randomized controlled superiority trial and a single-arm implant-only trial. The Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Out- come Score (KOOS) was used to assess patient- reported knee pain, function, and quality of life. For five of six KOOS subscales, the magnitude of improvement from baseline to 2 years was significantly greater in the implant group, includ- ing in the primary outcomes of KOOS Over- all and KOOS Pain. Compared with the con- trol group, significantly more patients achieved KOOS success in the implant group (63.4% vs 27.9%), with or without adjustment for baseline KOOS Sports and Recreation. The implant group less frequently had treatment cessation through 2 years compared with the control group, but the difference was not statistically significant (17.3% vs 10.5%). “Overall, the implant group experi- enced superior improvements and outcomes at 2 years compared to subjects receiving nonsur- gical care alone,” a coauthor said in a statement.
