Riassunto dello studio

One hundred and ninety-four orthopaedic surgeons and residents from the Netherlands and Australia were included in this survey investigating their ability to determine whether patients with non-obstructive degenerative meniscal tears were good candidates for an arthroscopic partial meniscectomy or non-surgical treatment with exercise therapy. The primary outcome of interest was the rate of correct predictions, measured using the 5 point Likert scale (patients scoring 4-5 were considered successful treatment respondents). Secondary outcomes of interest included the ratio of treatment choice between arthroscopic partial meniscectomy and exercise therapy, and the difference in prediction rate between experienced surgeons and other surgeons. Results revealed that 50% of predictions were correct. No significant difference in prediction rate was observed between experienced knee surgeons and other surgeons. 21.6% of surgeons chose surgery and 78.4% of surgeons chose exercise therapy as the preferred treatment.