Table 5.
Primary and secondary outcomes at 24-month follow-up for the subgroup of patients with unstable meniscus tear. Values are means with 95% CIs and numbers (percentage)
| APM (n=34) | Placebo surgery (n=39) | Improvement from baseline (or 24mo) | Between-Group Difference in Improvement from Baseline or P value | ||
| Primary outcomes | APM | Placebo surgery | |||
| WOMET score | 84.6 (78.0 to 91.3) | 84.5 (78.9 to 90.0) | 27.7 (19.5 to 35.9) | 33.3 (27.5 to 39.1) | −5.6 (−15.3 to 4.1) |
| Lysholm knee score | 84.5 (78.7 to 90.3) | 86.7 (83.2 to 90.3) | 23.4 (16.7 to 30.2) | 27.5 (22.6 to 32.4) | −4.0 (−12.1 to 4.0) |
| Pain after exercise | 2.2 (1.4 to 3.0) | 2.2 (1.5 to 3.0) | 3.5 (2.6 to 4.4) | 4.1 (3.2 to 4.9) | −0.6 (−1.8 to 0.6) |
| Secondary outcomes | |||||
| Treatment-group unblinding | 3 (8.8%) | 3 (7.3%) | p=1.000 | ||
| Satisfied patients | 26 (76.5%) | 31 (79.5%) | p=0.784 | ||
| Improved patients | 30 (88.2%) | 35 (89.7%) | p=1.000 | ||
| Returned to normal activities | 23 (67.6%) | 30 (76.9%) | p=0.436 | ||
| Mechanical symptoms | 8 (23.5) | 10 (25.6) | p=1.000 | ||
| At least one positive meniscal test | 10 (29.4) | 13 (33.3) | p=0.803 | ||
Two patients lost to follow-up, both in placebo-surgery group. p Values for interaction (randomisation and unstable tear) were 0.701, 0.754 and 0.623 for the change in WOMET score, Lysholm knee score and pain after exercise, respectively.
APM, arthroscopic partial meniscectomy; WOMET, Western Ontario Meniscal Evaluation Tool.