Less kneeling pain, graft site pain and sensitivity loss were reported when quadriceps tendon-bone grafts were used with primary anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction compared with bone-patellar tendon-bone grafts, according to study results.
Researchers randomly assigned 25 patients with isolated ACL injuries to receive bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) grafts and 26 patients to receive quadriceps tendon-bone (QTB) grafts. The researchers measured anteroposterior knee laxity with an arthrometer and assessed anterior knee pain clinically and by knee-walking ability.
Patient-evaluated outcomes were measured with KOOS and subjective International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) scores. Follow-up evaluations were performed 1 and 2 years postoperatively.
At follow-up, the QTB and BPTB groups were equal in anterior knee laxity, whereas positive pivot shift test results were seen less frequently. Patients in the QTB group experienced less anterior kneeling pain, with 7% of patients grading knee-walking as difficult or impossible compared with 34% in the BPTB group, according to study results.
The researchers found no significant differences between the two groups in subjective patient-evaluated outcome at 1 and 2 years’ follow-up. The QTB group had an IKDC score of 75 compared with 76 in the BPTB group at 1 year follow-up.
Disclosure: The researchers have no relevant financial disclosures.
