NCT04313569.

Study name	Arthroscopic Versus Conservative Treatment of Degenerative Meniscal Tear in Middle Aged Patients in Regard to Pain & Knee Function Official title: Arthroscopic Versus Conservative Treatment of Degenerative Meniscal Tear in Middle Aged Patients in Regard to Pain & Knee Function: Comparative Study
Methods	Study design: single‐centre, parallel‐group, two‐arm, randomised controlled trial Setting: Erbil teaching hospital, Iran Trial time period: August 2017 to September 2019 Interventions: arthroscopic meniscectomy versus conservative treatment Sample size calculations: 60 participants, 30 in each group Analysis: not reported
Participants	Inclusion criteria Age ranging between 40 and 60 years All were clinically diagnosed to have degenerative medial meniscal tear then confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) Atraumatic continuous pain in medial aspect of knee affecting daily activities, for more than one month despite the treatment of general physician Exclusion criteria Meniscal tear due to trauma Any rheumatologic knee disease MRI showing ligament injury, loose bodies, tumours and/or osteochondral defects Former surgery of knee and lower limb fractures in the last year Knee joints with osteoarthritis graded 2 or more according to Kellgren‐Lawrence scale (Kellgren 1957) on weight‐bearing knee X‐ray Lateral meniscus tear
Interventions	Intervention ‐ arthroscopic meniscectomy Control ‐ conservative treatment Use of medications, like analgesics, muscle relaxants, non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAID) and local painkillers, depending on participants' condition, and physiotherapy, lifestyle and daily activity modification, participant education about positioning of the knee.
Outcomes	Primary outcomes: Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale at 1 year: Lysholm Knee score scale has 8 parts (swelling, pain, squatting, support, stair climbing, limping, locking and instability). Score of 100 means no problems in knee. Visual analogue score at 1 year: 10‐point Visual Analogue Score scale used in order to measure the severity of knee pain during the study. 0 = no pain; 10 = most severe pain Secondary outcomes: None specified
Starting date	1 August 2017
Contact information	Sherwan Ahmed Ali Hamawandi, Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Hawler Medical University
Notes	Clinical trial registration:NCT04313569 Trial status: recruitment completed Expected completion date: 30 September 2019. No results available.