SF-36 Physical Component Score Is Predictive of Achieving a Clinically Meaningful Improvement after Osteochondral Allograft Transplantation of the Femur.

backgroundOsteochondral allograft (OCA) transplantation is an increasingly common treatment for patients with symptomatic focal chondral lesions of the knee. There has been increasing interest in determining predictive factors to maximize patient benefit after this operation. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the predictive association of the physical component (PCS) and mental component (MCS) scores of the Short Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire for achievement of the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) after OCA transplantation.

methodsThis retrospective study of a longitudinally maintained institutional registry included 91 patients who had undergone OCA transplantation for symptomatic focal osteochondral lesions of the femoral condyle. Included patients were those with complete preoperative questionnaires for the SF-36 and IKDC and completed postoperative IKDC at 2-year follow-up. Multivariate analysis was performed evaluating predictive association of the preoperative MCS and PCS with achievement of the MCID for the IKDC questionnaire.

resultsLogistic multivariate modeling demonstrated a statistically significant association between lower preoperative PCS and achievement of the MCID (

conclusionsFor this cohort of 91 patients, the preoperative SF-36 PCS and lesion size were predictive of achievement of the MCID at 2-year follow-up after femoral OCA transplantation. These findings support an important role of baseline physical health scores for predicting which patients will obtain a meaningful clinical benefit from this surgery.