Clinical outcomes after arthroscopic treatment of knee osteoarthritis

The aim of this study was to describe the clinical outcomes of patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) treated with arthroscopic surgery, documenting the associated injuries and defining the type of treatment selected for OA patients with different symptoms.

Knee arthroscopy is effective for treating patients with symptomatic OA and mechanical symptoms.

This was a prospective, consecutive series of 100 patients with a clinical and radiological diagnosis of OA who were treated with knee arthroscopy. The average follow-up time was 35.9 months (25–71), and the average age was 60.1 years (50–83). Inclusion criteria: > 50 years of age, a clinical imaging diagnosis of knee OA with an Ahlbäck I–III classification. Exclusion criteria: < 50 years of age, Ahlbäck IV, pathologic lower limb mechanical axis and inflammatory joint diseases. The IKDC and Lysholm scores were assessed before and after surgery.

The preoperative average scores were as follows: Lysholm, 56.9 ± 13.5 points (22–71); IKDC, 59.4 ± 21.7 points (45–80). The postoperative average scores were as follows: Lysholm, 86.9 points (22–87); IKDC, 79.5 points (45–100). Regarding the Lysholm scores, 76% were good and excellent results and 24% were moderate (p = 0.045). The associated injuries included 48% of chondral and 36% of unstable meniscal injuries. Good or excellent results were observed in 76% of the meniscal injury cases according to the Lysholm scores, while only 84.6% of the cases with unstable chondral lesions had good or excellent results (p = 0.035).

Most patients with knee OA associated with unstable cartilage or meniscal injuries reported good-to-excellent symptomatic results at the short- and mid-term follow-ups.

III