eTable 2a. Characteristics and functional outcomes of studies included in review that found better function following surgery than following conservative treatment.
First author, year (reference) (design) |
n (surgery/ conservative treatment) |
Time to surgery (months) |
Age (years) |
Follow-up (months) |
Anteroposterior stability (side-to-side difference [mm]) (surgery/conservative treatment) |
Clinical stability, pivot shift, Lachman (surgery/ conservative treatment) (clinical [%]) |
Crossover rate (%) |
Lysholm (surgery/ conservative treatment) |
Tegner (surgery/ conservative treatment) |
IKDC (surgery/ conservative treatment) |
KOOS (surgery/ conservative treatment) |
Single-leg hop test (surgery/conservative treatment) |
RTS/RTPL (surgery/conservative treatment) (%) |
Seitz 1994 (4) (RCS) |
63 / 24 | 4.4 (0.5–12) |
Surgery: 27 (15– 42) Conservative: 28 (18 to 56) |
102 (60 to 144) |
<3 mm category: 86% / 8% |
8 / 83 (pivot) | – | 100 to 91 points: 49 / 12 90 to 84 points: 14 / – 83 to 65 points: – / 6 64 to 0 points: – / 6 |
Tegner equal: 67% / 25% |
– | – | – | 67 / 25 |
Wittenberg 1998 (7) (RCS) |
30 / 30 | 35 | 34.3 (22 to 50) |
39 (24 to 36) | 2 / 4*1 | 19 / 75 (pivot) 24 / 81 (Lachman) |
– | 86 / 72*1 | 7 to 10*1: 12 / 6 4 to 6: 15 / 19 1 to 3: 3 / 5 |
– | – | – | – |
Fink 2001 (29) (RCS) |
72 / 41 | 3.3 (± 2.7) |
33.0 (± 9.0) |
Surgery: 132.1 (± 8.1) Conservative: 140.0 (± 9.6) |
2.0 (± 1.5) / 4.0 (± 2.0)*1 |
– | 4.8 (2 / 41) | 96 / 83*1 | – | Normal*1: 0% / 0% Almost normal: 44% / 4% Abnormal: 52% / 52% Very abnormal: 4% / 44% |
– | – | 56 / 30*1 |
Fithian 2005 (22) (PCS) |
63 (early)/ 33 (delayed) / 113 (conservative) |
<3 | 39.0 (16 to 69) |
79 | High risk: 1.6 (± 1.6)/ 3.3 (± 1.5) Moderate risk: 1.7 (± 2.0)/ 3.1 (± 2.0) Low risk: 2.0 (± 2.0) / 2.3 (± 1.8)* 1 |
Surgery: significantly better pivot |
22.6 (33 / 146) |
92 (± 10) / 88 (± 14)*1. 2 |
6.0 / 3.0*1, 2 | Normal*1, 2: 33% / 10% Almost normal: 50% / 23% Abnormal: 16% / 66% Very abnormal: 1% / 2% |
– | – | – |
Kessler 2008 (27) (RCS) |
60 / 49 | Not stated | 30.7 (12.5 to 54.0) |
132 | 3.9 (0 to 12) / 5.7 (0 to 16)*1 |
– | 18 (12 / 68)*3 |
– | 5.3 (2 to 10) / 4.9 (2 to 10) |
Normal*1: 53% / 14% Almost normal: 18% / 41% Abnormal: 20% / 31% Very abnormal: 8% / 14% |
– | – | – |
Tsoukas 2016 (21) (RCT) |
17 / 15 | 1.5 | Surgery: 31 (20 to 36) Conservative: 33 (25 to 39) |
123 | 1.5 (± 0.2) / 4.5 (± 0.5)*1 |
– | 0 | – | 7 (5 to 7)/ 5 (3 to 7) |
86.8 (± 6.5)/ 77.5 (± 13)*1 |
– | – | – |
IKDC: International Knee Documentation Committee; KOOS: Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score; PCS: prospective cohort study; RCT: randomized controlled trial; RCS: retrospective cohort study; RTS: rate of return to sport; RTPL: rate of return to preinjury level;
*1 p<0.05; *2 coper. *3 excluded before analysis