Effect of Patient Resilience on Functional Outcomes After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Abstract

Background: Previous studies have examined the relationship between patient resilience and functional outcome scores after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). However, past studies have failed to explore the longitudinal relationship between preoperative resilience and functional outcomes 2 years after ACLR.

Purpose: To evaluate the relationship between preoperative patient resilience and functional outcomes 2 years after ACLR.

Study design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: Patients were identified who underwent ACLR for anterior cruciate ligament tears between January and June 2020 at a single institution. Those who completed the Brief Resilience Scale preoperatively as part of routine patient questionnaires were considered for inclusion. Patients were contacted a minimum of 2 years after ACLR to complete the short form of the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS-JR), Single Assessment Numeric Evaluation (SANE), International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Subjective Knee Form, and visual analog scale (VAS). Outcomes were compared among patients with low resilience (LR), normal resilience (NR), and high resilience (HR), as defined in a previous study.²³.

Results: A total of 81 patients were included in the final analysis, with 14 patients in the low preoperative resilience group, 54 in normal, and 13 in high. The mean age of the cohort was 32.0 years, and there were no significant differences in age, sex, race, graft type, or psychiatric comorbidities among the resilience groups. Significantly increased postoperative KOOS-JR scores were observed in patients in the HR group as compared with those in the NR and LR groups (94.8, 86.7, and 79.6, respectively; P = .031). There were also significantly increased postoperative SANE scores in patients in the HR group versus those in the NR and LR groups (92.3, 83.5, and 69.2; P = .012). Patients with high preoperative resilience achieved the IKDC Patient Acceptable Symptom State at significantly higher rates (P = .003). No significant differences were observed in postoperative VAS (P = .364), IKDC (P = .072), or change in IKDC (P = .448) over time among resilience groups. Postoperatively, 30 patients (37.0%) changed resilience groups, with 13 moving down and 17 moving up in category (low, n = 12; normal, n = 55; high, n = 14).

Conclusion: Preoperative resilience correlated with KOOS-JR and SANE scores 2 years after ACLR but did not correlate with VAS, IKDC, or change in IKDC over the same period. Resilience was not static, with changes in resilience observed from initial to final evaluations. Resilience is not a strong predictor of postoperative patient-reported outcomes after ACLR.

Keywords: anterior cruciate ligament; knee; psychology; resilience.