Patient-Reported Knee Function and Return-to-Sport Rates After Nonsurgical and Surgical Treatment of an Acute Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury: Results From the NACOX Prospective Cohort Study.
Croné, Anna A; Gauffin, Håkan H; Hedevik, Henrik H; et al.
In the NACOX prospective cohort of 272 patients (mean age 25.5 years) with acute ACL injury managed by shared decision-making, nonoperative (non-ACLR) and operative (ACLR) strategies produced similar patient-reported IKDC-SKF scores over 24 months and comparable overall return-to-sport (RTS) rates (72% non-ACLR vs 77% ACLR). Patients managed nonoperatively returned to sport earlier (mean 3.5 vs 8.1 months), and in those aged 26–40 years ACLR was associated with a higher risk of not returning to sport at 24 months (relative risk ~3.15).