Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29332225›Full record

SynthesisKnee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA2018

Over 90 % of children and adolescents return to sport after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Jeffrey Kay, Muzammil Memon, Robert G Marx, Devin Peterson, Nicole Simunovic, Olufemi R Ayeni

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 78 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
78citing papers in PubMed, 9 pooled it
18.0field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

78 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 178 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. All-epiphyseal anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction yields superior sports performances than the trans-epiphyseal technique in skeletally immature patients: a systematic review.Journal of orthopaedics and traumatology : official journal of the Italian Society of Orthopaedics and Traumatology · 2024
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  6. High variability and lack of standardization in the evaluation of return to sport after ACL reconstruction: a systematic review.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2022
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  17. Knee Health Is a Major Determinant of Mobility Across the Healthspan.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025
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18 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.

Jeffrey KayDivision of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Muzammil MemonDivision of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Robert G MarxDepartment of Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 E 70th St, New York, NY, USA.
Devin PetersonDivision of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Nicole SimunovicDepartment of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Olufemi R AyeniDivision of Orthopaedic Surgery, Department of Surgery, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada. ayenif@mcmaster.ca.
McMaster University · CAHospital for Special Surgery · USImpact · CAMcMaster University Medical Centre · CA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeTo evaluate the rate at which children and adolescent athletes return to sporting activities after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction.

methodsThree databases, PubMed, MEDLINE, and EMBASE, were searched from database inception until September 9, 2017 by two reviewers independently and in duplicate. The inclusion criteria were English language studies that reported return to sport outcomes. Book chapters, conference papers, review articles, and technical reports were excluded. The rate of return to sports was combined in a meta-analysis of proportions using a random-effects model.

resultsOverall, 20 studies with a combined total of 1156 ACL reconstructions met the inclusion criteria, with a mean age of 14.3 years (range 6-19) and a mean follow-up time of 6.5 years (range 1-22). All studies were level IV evidence (14 retrospective case series and 6 prospective case series). The pooled rate of return to any sport participation was 92.0% [95% confidence interval (CI), 86-96%]. The pooled rate of return to pre-injury level of sport was 78.6% (95% CI 71-86%) and that to competitive level of sport was 81.0% (95% CI 62-94%). A total of 93 of the 717 assessed athletes (13%) sustained re-injuries with graft ruptures, and in 91 of 652 patients (14%), contralateral ACL injuries were reported on final follow-up.

conclusionPooled results suggest a high rate of return to sport following ACL reconstruction in children and adolescent athletes; however, this is associated with a relatively high rate of graft rupture and a similar rate of contralateral ACL injury. This study provides clinicians with evidence-based data on the ability of children and adolescent athletes to return to sport after ACL reconstruction, an important consideration for athletes of this population with ACL injuries. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV, systematic review of level IV studies.

Indexed as

AdolescentAnterior Cruciate Ligament InjuriesAnterior Cruciate Ligament ReconstructionAthletic InjuriesChildHumansLeg Length InequalityRecurrenceReturn to SportRisk FactorsAdolescentAnterior cruciate ligament reconstructionChildPediatricSport

Identifiers

PMID29332225
OpenAlexW2784328463

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.