- Briefly describe a specific question, or set of related questions, about a health care test or treatment that this program should consider.
We would like to nominate the treatment of degenerative meniscus tears with a comparison of non-operative and operative treatment outcomes. Specific subgroups to include age groups. Specific outcomes to include: knee function patient reported outcomes, quality of life, time to total knee arthroplasty, and outcomes after total knee arthroplasty.
- Describe why this topic is important.
Knee arthroscopy is among the most common of all orthopedic surgeries performed in North America. Recent studies have raised questions about the efficacy of this procedure in some patients, especially those with mild, moderate, and major stages of knee osteoarthritis. There may be a group of patients that have improved functional outcomes with arthroscopy for degenerative meniscus tears.
In some patients, non-operative treatment may produce equivalent outcomes and functional improvements may be possible at lower overall societal cost, along with lower risks associated with non-operative treatment. Clearly distinguishing which groups improve with surgery, and groups which do equally well with non-operative treatment, is a critical question for patients, surgeons, and health systems.
- How will an answer to your research question be used or help inform decisions for you or your group?
The AAOS Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG) Program has been in operation since 2007, with 17 currently published CPGs to date. These CPGs are integrated into several tools to educate orthopedic surgeons about best practice. These tools include annual educational courses, certification testing for maintenance of certification, and use of cell phone apps, to make these CPGS readily available for orthopedic surgeons, and non-operative primary care orthopedic specialists (e.g. PTs, NPs, PAs, etc.). These tools include anterior cruciate ligament injury and treatment of osteoarthritis of the knee; however, do not specifically address degenerative meniscus tears. This research could be used to better inform treatment of degenerative meniscus tears, with the potential of risk reduction and cost savings.
- Other Information About You: (optional)
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- Please choose a description that best describes your role or perspective: (you may select more than one category if appropriate)
- Professional Society
- If you are you making a suggestion on behalf of an organization, please state the name of the organization
- American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons
- Please tell us how you heard about the Effective Health Care Program
- Correspondence with Amanda Borsky
