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The concomitant lateral meniscus injury increased the pivot shift in the anterior cruciate ligament-injured knee

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Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy Aims and scope

Abstract

Purpose

Concomitant meniscus injuries in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) have been suggested to exacerbate rotational laxity. However, the effect is supposed to be so small, if any, that some quantitative pivot-shift measurement is needed. The purpose of this prospective study was to determine the effect of meniscus tear on rotational laxity in ACL-deficient knees by an quantitative measurement. It was hypothesized that a concomitant meniscus tear, especially a lateral one, would induce greater pivot shift.

Methods

Fifty-seven unilateral ACL-injured patients (26 men and 31 women, mean age: 24 ± 10 years) were included. The pivot-shift test was performed prior to ACL reconstruction, while a quantitative evaluation using an electromagnetic system to determine tibial acceleration and a clinical grading according to the IKDC were performed. Meniscus injuries were diagnosed arthroscopically, and concomitant meniscus tear was confirmed in 32 knees.

Results

The clinical grade was not different between the ACL-injured knees of patients with and without meniscus tear (n.s.). Tibial acceleration did not show a statistical significant difference (meniscus-injured knees: 1.6 ± 1.1 m/s2 versus meniscus-intact knees: 1.2 ± 0.7 m/s2, n.s.). However, the subgroup analysis demonstrated that there was increased tibial acceleration in ACL-deficient knees with lateral meniscus tear (2.1 ± 1.1 m/s2, n = 13) compared with meniscus-intact knees (p < 0.05), whereas rotational laxity did not increase in the medial meniscus-injured and bilateral-injured knees (1.2 ± 0.9 m/s2, n = 12, n.s. and 1.4 ± 1.1 m/s2, n = 7, n.s., respectively).

Conclusion

A concomitant meniscus tear, especially a lateral meniscus tear, has a significant impact on rotational laxity in ACL-injured knees. When a large pivot shift is observed in the ACL-injured knee, a concomitant meniscus tear should be suspected and an aggressive treatment would be considered. Meniscus injuries should be inspected carefully when substantial pivot shift is encountered in ACL-injured knees.

Level of evidence

Diagnostic study, Level III.

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Funding

This study was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP16K10902.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kobe University, 7-5-1 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo, 650-0017, Japan

    Yuichi Hoshino, Nobuaki Miyaji, Kyohei Nishida, Daisuke Araki, Noriyuki Kanzaki, Kenichiro Kakutani, Takehiko Matsushita & Ryosuke Kuroda

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe Kaisei Hospital, Kobe, Japan

    Yuichiro Nishizawa

Authors
  1. Yuichi Hoshino
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  2. Nobuaki Miyaji
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  4. Yuichiro Nishizawa
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  8. Takehiko Matsushita
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  9. Ryosuke Kuroda
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Contributions

All authors have made substantial contributions to (1) the conception and design of the study, or acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data; (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; (3) final approval of the version to be submitted; and (4) agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately resolved. The specific contributions of the authors are as follows: (1) Conception and design of the work; YH, NM, TM, RK. (2) Acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data for the work: YH, NM, KN, YN, DA, TM. (3) Drafting the article: YH, NM. (4) Critical revision of the article for important intellectual content: YH, NM, KN, KK, TM, RK. (5) Final approval of the version to be published: YH, NM, KN, YN, DA, NK, KK, TM, RK. (6) Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved: YH, MK, RK.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuichi Hoshino.

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The authors report that they have no conflicts of interest in the authorship and publication of this article.

Ethical approval

The Ethics Committee of Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine approved this study.

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Hoshino, Y., Miyaji, N., Nishida, K. et al. The concomitant lateral meniscus injury increased the pivot shift in the anterior cruciate ligament-injured knee. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 27, 646–651 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-018-5209-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-018-5209-7

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