Choi Won Jin, Dowdle S Blake, Godfrey Jenna M, Fitzpatrick Daniel C, Kirkpatrick Tessa, Headlee Cindy, Owen Erin C
Slocum Research and Education Foundation, Eugene, Oregon, USA.
Slocum Center for Orthopedics & Sports Medicine, Eugene, Oregon, USA.
Iowa Orthop J. 2025;45(1):193-198.
The purpose of this study was to examine the proportion of patients who returned for their previously scheduled knee arthroscopy procedure following state-mandated cancellation of elective procedures during COVID-19 lockdown.
We reviewed a retrospective cohort of patients who had planned knee arthroscopies, excluding ligament reconstruction and irrigation/ debridement, cancelled for a date between March and June 2020. The cohort was evaluated for scheduling outcome, returned versus did not return for surgery, before March 2022. Cancellation and reschedule dates, reason for not returning for surgery, patient demographics, and planned surgical characteristics were collected. Characteristics between patients who returned versus did not return were compared using statistical tests of independence.
The cohort consisted of 66 patients; 53 (80%) rescheduled and 13 (20%) did not return. For those who rescheduled, the average time between cancellation and surgery was 115 days (sd=16 days). There were various reasons for not rescheduling surgery: eight (62%) had symptom alleviation; two (15%) had logistical barriers; three (23%) were lost to follow-up. Obesity status had a trend towards significance with lower proportion of rescheduled procedures for non-obese patients (68%) compared to obese patients (89%, p=0.057).
Our study highlights a natural experiment in forced delay of elective knee arthroscopies, which may be a surrogate for conservative management. The proportion of patients who did not return for a scheduled knee arthroscopy surgery (20%) is higher than what has been reported previously (11%) and 62% of these patients found symptom relief. However, 80% of the cohort did return for knee arthroscopy in within two years, suggesting delaying surgery will not alleviate symptoms for the majority of patients. .
本研究的目的是调查在 COVID-19 封锁期间，因州政府强制取消择期手术而未能按原计划进行膝关节镜检查的患者中，后续返回接受手术的患者比例。
我们回顾了一组计划进行膝关节镜检查（不包括韧带重建和冲洗/清创）的患者的回顾性队列，这些手术于2020年3月至6月期间被取消。在2022年3月之前，对该队列进行手术安排结果评估，即是否返回接受手术。收集取消和重新安排手术的日期、未返回接受手术的原因、患者人口统计学信息以及计划手术的特征。使用独立性统计检验比较返回和未返回患者之间的特征。
该队列由66名患者组成；53名（80%）重新安排了手术，13名（20%）未返回。对于重新安排手术的患者，取消手术与再次手术之间的平均时间为115天（标准差=16天）。未重新安排手术有多种原因：8名（62%）症状缓解；2名（15%）存在后勤障碍；3名（23%）失访。肥胖状态具有显著趋势，非肥胖患者重新安排手术的比例（68%）低于肥胖患者（89%，p=0.057）。
我们的研究突出了在强制延迟择期膝关节镜检查方面的一项自然实验，这可能是保守治疗的替代方法。未返回接受预定膝关节镜手术的患者比例（20%）高于先前报道的比例（11%），其中62%的患者症状得到缓解。然而，80%的队列患者在两年内确实返回接受了膝关节镜检查，这表明延迟手术不会使大多数患者的症状得到缓解。
