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. 2022 Mar 23;10(3):23259671221084006.
doi: 10.1177/23259671221084006. eCollection 2022 Mar.

Return to School After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Prospective Study of Adolescents and Young Adults

Joseph M Brutico  1 , Ryan W Paul  1 , Margaret L Wright  1 , Steven B Cohen  1 , Michael G Ciccotti  1 , Christopher C Dodson  1 , Kevin B Freedman  1 , Sommer Hammoud  1
Affiliations

Return to School After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: A Prospective Study of Adolescents and Young Adults

Joseph M Brutico et al. Orthop J Sports Med. .

Abstract

Background: The ability to return to school after orthopaedic surgery is an important consideration for young patients, as there is substantial literature indicating that school attendance is correlated strongly with academic performance.

Purpose: To evaluate the time to return to school, the barriers that students encounter when returning to school, and the academic effect of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) in high school (HS) and college students.

Study design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods: Full-time HS and college/graduate school (C/GS) students who underwent ACLR during the 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 academic periods were included in the study. Patients were contacted 2 weeks postoperatively to complete a questionnaire that assessed their time to return to school and barriers that interfered with their ability to return, and they completed a second questionnaire at 6 weeks postoperatively that assessed academic performance and challenges faced upon returning to school.

Results: Included were 36 (52.2%) full-time HS students and 33 (47.8%) full-time C/GS students. HS students reported a longer time to return to school compared with C/GS students (8.51 vs 5.89 days; P = .008). In addition, HS students missed more scheduled school days than C/GS students (5.39 vs 2.90 days; P < .001). The majority of HS (73.5%) and C/GS (65.5%) students cited pain as a barrier to return, and more than half of HS (70.6%) and C/GS (55.2%) students also cited restricted mobility as a barrier to return. HS students were more likely to miss an examination in the early postoperative period compared with their C/GS counterparts (65.7% vs 39.3%; P = .037). Many students in both cohorts received a grade less than expected in the early postoperative period; this was not significantly different between the 2 groups (HS, 50.0%; C/GS, 42.9%; P = .489).

Conclusion: ACLR can have a negative effect on school attendance and academic performance among HS and C/GS students. Orthopaedic surgeons should counsel all students and their families adequately about the potential academic effect of orthopaedic surgery in order to maximize clinical results, academic performance, and satisfaction in their patients.

Keywords: ACL reconstruction; academic performance; college; high school; return to school; students.

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Conflict of interest statement

One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: S.B.C. has received education payments from Liberty Surgical and consulting fees from Zimmer Biomet. M.G.C. has received grant support from Arthrex and DJO and education payments from Liberty Surgical. C.C.D. has received education payments from Liberty Surgical, consulting and nonconsulting fees from Arthrex, and hospitality payments from Stryker. K.B.F. has received education payments from Liberty Surgical, consulting fees from DePuy/Medical Device Business Services, and nonconsulting fees and honoraria from Vericel. S.H. has received education payments from Arthrex and hospitality payments from Smith & Nephew. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Factors affecting return to school among HS and C/GS students. Values are presented as a percentage of the total respondents in each cohort who answered “agree” or “strongly agree” to the question prompt. *Statistically significant difference between groups (P < .05). C/GS, college/graduate school; HS, high school.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Impact of surgery on examinations after return to school among HS and C/GS students. Values presented as a percentage of the total respondents in each cohort who answered “yes” to the question prompt. *Statistically significant difference between groups (P < .05). C/GS, college/graduate school; HS, high school.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Impact of surgery on school performance and social activities after return to school among HS and C/GS students. Values presented as a percentage of the total respondents in each cohort who answered “agree” or “strongly agree” to the question prompt. C/GS, college/graduate school; HS, high school.
Figure A1.
Figure A1.
Two-week postoperative survey.
Figure A2.
Figure A2.
Six-week postoperative survey.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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