Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36738386›Full record

ReviewJournal of experimental orthopaedics2023

Spontaneous healing of a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament: a case series and literature review.

Leonardo Previ, Edoardo Monaco, Alessandro Carrozzo, Gianluca Fedeli, Alessandro Annibaldi, Matteo Romano Cantagalli, Giorgio Rossi, Andrea Ferretti

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Journal of experimental orthopaedics, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
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

8 authors.

Leonardo PreviAOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy The Investigations Were Performed at AOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Edoardo MonacoAOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy The Investigations Were Performed at AOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Alessandro CarrozzoAOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy The Investigations Were Performed at AOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. alessandrocarrozzo@aol.com.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0700-8139
Gianluca FedeliAOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy The Investigations Were Performed at AOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Alessandro AnnibaldiAOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy The Investigations Were Performed at AOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Matteo Romano CantagalliAOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy The Investigations Were Performed at AOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Giorgio RossiAOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy The Investigations Were Performed at AOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Andrea FerrettiAOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy The Investigations Were Performed at AOU Sant'Andrea, La Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeThe anterior cruciate ligament is probably one of the ligaments with the lowest healing potential. Many authors have reported cases of spontaneous healing but nowadays it is difficult to predict successful healing of an anterior cruciate ligament rupture and, even more, residual functionality and capability to return to sport. The aim of this study was to investigate cases of spontaneous healing in a population that received non-surgical treatment after anterior cruciate ligament rupture and to perform an updated review of contemporary literature.

methodsThe authors retrospectively reviewed patients who suffered from an acute complete anterior cruciate ligament rupture and underwent non-surgical treatment. No specific rehabilitation protocol was prescribed. A new magnetic resonance imaging study was conducted 6 months after the injury for all patients. A literature review was conducted regarding spontaneous healing of the anterior cruciate ligament. The papers included in the analysis were reports of any level of evidence, written in English, Italian, or French languages; articles were excluded if they reported non-human studies, histological studies, studies conducted without magnetic resonance imaging or arthroscopic second look, or partial anterior cruciate ligament tear.

resultsCase series: Six patients were enrolled in the study. All patients had a proximal anterior cruciate ligament lesion. The minimum follow-up was 13 months (range 6-20 months). At the last follow-up the mean score on the Lysholm scale was 97, the mean IKDC score was 94, and the mean KOOS score was 96. All patients returned to their own sport activities; no one reported significant differences. The magnetic resonance imaging study at 6 months revealed an end-to-end continuous anterior cruciate ligament with homogeneous signal. No one had any new knee injury at last follow-up. LITERATURE REVIEW: A search of comprehensive databases retrieved 1057 articles; 8 full-text articles met the eligibility criteria. The studies were heterogeneous regarding the populations analysed, sport activity level, treatment applied, healing definition, and follow-up. The failure rate of non-surgical management ranged among the papers from 0 to 73%.

conclusionsThe study findings show that spontaneous anterior cruciate ligament healing is possible and there are chances of clinical recovery for patients not suitable for surgery. However, there is still a lack of evidence about predictors, clinical outcomes, and adequate rehabilitation protocols.

Indexed as

ACLAnterior cruciate ligamentHealingSpontaneous healing

Identifiers

PMID36738386
PMCPMC9898698

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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.