Descriptive Epidemiology of Complete ACL Tears in the Skeletally Immature Population: A Prospective Multicenter PLUTO Study

Abstract

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries are common in pediatric and adolescent patients. Understanding this population's injury characteristics and treatment strategies is vital for managing this high-risk group.

Purpose: To report the descriptive epidemiology and treatment strategies of a large cohort of skeletally immature patients with complete ACL tears.

Study design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 2.

Methods: Consecutive skeletally immature patients diagnosed with complete ACL tears were enrolled at 10 institutions across the United States. Treatment was provided by 1 of 23 participating orthopaedic surgeons. Patient characteristics (chronological and skeletal age, sex, race, and ethnicity) as well as anthropometric measures, mechanism of injury, and ACL treatment type were collected.

Results: A total of 749 skeletally immature participants were included in the final cohort; the mean chronological age was 12.9 years, and 62% were male. The mean skeletal age (13.2 years) was a mean of 0.34 years (4 months) higher than the mean chronological age (P < .001). Tanner staging revealed that 18% of participants were Tanner stage 1, 20% were Tanner stage 2, 28% were Tanner stage 3, 30% were Tanner stage 4, and 4% were Tanner stage 5. Five percent of participants reported a previous ipsilateral knee injury, and 30% had a family history of ACL injuries. Sport was the predominant mechanism of injury (89%), with noncontact injuries the most common (64%). The most common sport resulting in an ACL tear among boys was American football (41%) and among girls was soccer (44%). Overall, 99.9% of skeletally immature patients were treated surgically by 1 of 4 reconstruction techniques: transphyseal (53%), partial transphyseal (7%), physeal-sparing all-epiphyseal (13%), and physeal-sparing iliotibial band (ITB) (27%). The most common surgical techniques for patients with a skeletal age <13 years were physeal sparing with ITB (56%) and all-epiphyseal (22%), while in patients with a skeletal age ≥13 years, transphyseal (71%) and physeal sparing with ITB (12%) were the most common. Overall, 57% of patients who underwent ACL reconstruction had arthroscopically documented meniscal tears, with high rates of meniscal repair (90% medial tears and 66% lateral tears).

Conclusion: Almost all skeletally immature patients with ACL tears were injured during sports, surgical treatment was overwhelmingly the treatment of choice, and preferred surgical techniques varied based on skeletal ages.

Keywords: ACL injury; ACL reconstruction; anterior cruciate ligament; epidemiology; pediatric ACL; pediatric sports medicine.