Prevalence and Predictors of Concomitant Meniscal Surgery During Pediatric and Adolescent ACL Reconstruction: Analysis of 4729 Patients Over 20 Years at a Tertiary-Care Regional Children's Hospital.

BACKGROUND: The rate of concomitant meniscal procedures performed in conjunction with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is increasing. Few studies have examined these procedures in high-risk pediatric cohorts.

HYPOTHESES: That (1) the rates of meniscal repair compared with meniscectomy would increase throughout the study period and (2) patient-related factors would be able to predict the type of meniscal operation, which would differ according to age.

STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study (prevalence); Level of evidence, 2.

METHODS: Natural language processing was used to extract clinical variables from notes of patients who underwent ACL reconstruction between 2000 and 2020 at a single institution. Patients were stratified to pediatric (5-13 years) and adolescent (14-19 years) cohorts. Linear regression was used to evaluate changes in the prevalence of concomitant meniscal surgery during the study period. Logistic regression was used to determine predictors of the need for and type of meniscal procedure.

RESULTS: Of 4729 patients (mean age, 16 ± 2 years; 54.7% female) identified, 2458 patients (52%) underwent concomitant meniscal procedures (55% repair rate). The prevalence of lateral meniscal (LM) procedures increased in both pediatric and adolescent cohorts, whereas the prevalence of medial meniscal (MM) repair increased in the adolescent cohort ( P = .02). In the adolescent cohort, older age was predictive of concomitant medial meniscectomy ( P = .031). In the pediatric cohort, female sex was predictive of concomitant MM surgery and of undergoing lateral meniscectomy versus repair ( P ≤ .029). Female sex was associated with decreased odds of concomitant LM surgery in both cohorts ( P ≤ .018). Revision ACLR was predictive of concomitant MM surgery and of meniscectomy (medial and lateral) in the adolescent cohort ( P < .001). Higher body mass index was associated with increased odds of undergoing medial meniscectomy versus repair in the pediatric cohort ( P = .03).

CONCLUSION: More than half of the young patients who underwent ACLR had meniscal pathology warranting surgical intervention. The prevalence of MM repair compared with meniscectomy in adolescents increased throughout the study period. Patients who underwent revision ACLR were more likely to undergo concomitant meniscal surgeries, which were more often meniscectomy. Female sex had mixed effects in both the pediatric and adolescent cohorts.