312 GENDER AND BODY MASS INDEX PREDICTWOMAC AND QUALITY OF LIFE SCORES IN KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS

Abstract

Methods: Data were obtained from information recorded in the medical records of sequential patients who underwent autologous bone-patellar tendon-bone graft ACL reconstruction by one of us (Levy) during the years 2003-2005. Injury to specific articular structures, as well as the effects of age, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), occupation, tobacco and alcohol use, gender, and timing of surgery relevant to the date of injury were assessed. Results: Eighty-six patients who underwent this procedure for ACL reconstruction were analyzed. Among them, 24 patients had medial meniscal tears (most commonly partial thickness, longitudinal and bucket handle tears in the posterior horns), 15 had lateral meniscal tears (most commonly radial and longitudinal tears in the posterior horns), and 7 had tears in both menisci. Nineteen patients suffered chondral injuries: 3 in the lateral femoral condyle, 8 in the patella, 9 in the medial femoral condyle, and 3 in the trochlea. Obese patients, (defined as a BMI of 30 or over), had an increased risk for patellar chondral lesions (2.3% versus 31.3%). Surgical delay greater than a year was associated with an increased risk for medial meniscal tears (29.7% versus 75%), but not lateral meniscal tears, as well as medial femoral condyle injuries (6.8% versus 33.3%). Patients over the age of 25 were more likely to have medial femoral condyle lesions (2.5% versus 17.4%). Gender, height, weight, occupation, and use of alcohol or tobacco showed no effect on chondral or meniscal injuries in patients with ACL tears. Conclusion: The observations recorded on this group of patients are very similar to those recorded by other orthopedic surgeons who have attempted to map meniscal and chondral lesions observed at the time of ACL repair procedures (Slauterbeck et al., 2009, Kaeding et al., 2005). The correspondence among these recordings supports their accuracy. Therefore, among patient groups with identical surgical interventions, it seems reasonable to undertake a large-scale study correlating recordings of initial injury patterns with biomarkers of cartilage extracellular matrix turnover, imaging studies of the menisci and cartilage, and clinical features of OA at 5 to 15 years of follow-up as a means of testing the hypothesis.