Arthroscopic Partial Meniscectomy: Long-Term Follow-Up from a Randomized Trial

In a previously published randomized trial, arthroscopic partial meniscectomy was compared with 16 exercise-based physical therapy (PT) sessions in 321 Dutch patients (mean age, 58) who had degenerative meniscal tears of the knee (NEJM JW Gen Med Nov 15 2018 and JAMA 2018; 320:1328). Patient-reported functional outcomes in the two groups were similar after 2 years of follow-up. Now, researchers report 5-year follow-up.

At 5 years, intent-to-treat analysis showed improvements of 25 to 30 points on a 100-point scale of self-reported knee function in both groups — a nonsignificant difference. In an as-treated analysis, 159 patients were randomized to and underwent surgery, 110 stayed with PT, and 52 (who were randomized to PT) opted for delayed…