Epidemiology of meniscal injury associated with ACL tears in young athletes

Abstract

The epidemiologic characteristics of concomitant meniscal tears that occur at the time of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury have been variably reported. The purpose of this study was to assess the epidemiology of meniscal tears that occur in the ACL-injured knee of a young, athletic population at a single institution. We were unable to find a difference in meniscal tear incidence based on sex, mechanism of injury, sport, or time to surgery. In addition, we found that the cumulative incidence of isolated medial meniscal tears was significantly higher than the cumulative incidence of isolated lateral meniscal tears. Our prospective study design and ability to identify and follow all patients in our study population make this a unique study.