‘OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE IT'S A TEAR IT WON'T NECESSARILY MEND ITSELF.’ A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF PATIENT EXPERIENCES AND EXPECTATIONS OF TREATMENT FOR A MENISCAL TEAR

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionRecent research has questioned the role of arthroscopic meniscectomy in patients with a meniscal tear leading to the development of treatment recommendations for these patients. There is a clear need to understand patient perceptions of living with a meniscal tear in order to plan future research and treatment guidelines.AimsTo explore the experiences and expectations of treatment of young patients with a meniscal tear of the kneeMethodologyTen participants diagnosed with a meniscal tear were recruited from the METRO cohort study using a purposive sampling strategy. These patients underwent semi-sructured interviews between April and May 2021. Thematic analysis was used to code the transcripts and generate key themes in order to describe the data.ResultsThemes identified relate to the broad areas of: the effect of symptoms, the expericne of the clinical consultation and the experience of the treatment modality undertaken. Meniscal tears have a profound impact on pain and many patients experience effects on their family and financial life in addition to physical symptoms. Participants expected the majority of their management to occur in secondary care and most thought surgery would be a definitive treatment, while the effectiveness of physiotherapy could not be guaranteed as it would not fix the physical tear.ConclusionPatient experience of meniscal tear may not correspond with current available clinical evidence. Clinicians should consider the common misconceptions highlighted in this study when conducting a consultation and pre-empt them to optimally manage patient expectations.