Information about project titled 'Articular cartilage lesions of the knee - a prospective arthroscopic study'
Articular cartilage lesions of the knee - a prospective arthroscopic study
| Details about the project - category | Details about the project - value |
|---|---|
| Project status: | Published |
| Project manager: | Asbjørn Årøen |
| Supervisor(s): | Lars Engebretsen |
Description
Cartilage defects of the athletes knee implies serious limitations for further career at the top level and could result in pain and reduced function in the affected joint. This injury is associated with anterior cruciate ligament tear and meniscal injury though also as an isolated injury. It is an estimated considerable risk for degenerative changes of knee due to the fact cartilage tissue is not able to selfrepair. Existing treatment is not well-documented in randomized studies and means a prolonged and demanding rehabilitation and is rather expensive. A thoroughly evaluation of the published nonrandomized series are not possible due to the fact that the magnitude and incidence of this injury is not documented.
This study will map the incidence of cartilage defects of the knee diagnosed at knee arthroscopy during a six months prospective registration of cartilage injury at three hospitals (Central hospital of Akershus, Martina Hansen Hospital, Ullevål Hospital) here in Oslo serving primary care for about 500 000 inhabitants. Symptoms and findings will be registered at the international ICRS form for cartilage injury. Patients with a full thickness cartilage defect will be followed with clinical reexamination at five and ten years.
The results from this study will be:
1. Incidence and symptoms related to cartilage defects of the knee will be documented.
2. Natural history of a full thickness cartilage injury.
3. Knowledge about natural history, the magnitude of this challenging injury and its association to other knee injuries will give basis for better judgement of nonrandomized clinical studies with surprising good results.
Today there are few studies, which could make a basis for evaluation of the possibility of biasing of patients in clinical studies concerning this particular injury.