PurposeTo investigate the influence of the timing of ACL reconstruction (ACLR) on patient-reported outcomes, comparing those with and without concomitant medial collateral ligament (MCL) injury. MethodsThis study included patients who underwent ACLR between September 2015 and October 2020. Inclusion criteria required patients to have preoperative and postoperative patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) and a follow-up period of at least 2 years. Patients who sustained a grade 2 or 3 MCL injury with an ACL tear were compared to patients with no MCL injury as a control. All patients underwent ACL reconstruction using either bone-tendon-bone (BTB) autograft or BTB Allograft. Patient-reported outcomes (International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC), Lysholm, and Knee Osteoarthritis and Score (KOOS)) were recorded, and outcomes were analyzed by sex and time from index injury. A stratified linear mixed-effects regression analysis was conducted. ResultsA total of 253 eligible patients with 2-year outcomes were enrolled. Combined ACL/MCL injury had lower IKDC (β=-6.1 vs β=-8.3, p=0.003), KOOS QOL (β=-9.3 vs β=-11, p=0.004), and KOOS Sport (β=-12 vs β=-13 , p=0.08) if performed after 6 weeks from index injury. Isolated ACL injuries showed lower KOOS ADL (β=-2.4, p=0.045) if surgery performed between 3-6 months. For combined ACL/MCL injury, autograft (compared to allograft) was found to have worse IKDC (β=-11 (-18, -4.2), p=0.002), Lysholm (β=-9.2 (-15, -3.1), p=0.004), KOOS QOL(β=-11 (-20, -1.6), p=0.023), KOOS Pain (β=-5.1 (-10, -0.03), p=0.049), KOOS Symptoms (β=-7.6 (-10, -0.03), p=0.02), and KOOS Sports (β=-21 (-32, -10), p=<0.001). ConclusionPatients undergoing ACL reconstruction with a grade 2 or 3 MCL injury have improved patient-reported outcomes if surgery is performed within 6 weeks from the time of injury. In this cohort, allografts resulted in better outcome scores compared with autografts. Level of EvidenceLevel III Retrospective Cohort Study
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