Knee Surg Relat Res.
2016 Mar;28(1):68-74. 10.5792/ksrr.2016.28.1.68.
Are "Patellofemoral Symptoms" Truly Related to the Patellofemoral Joint?
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, North Manchester General Hospital, Manchester, UK. rafikragai@yahoo.com
- 2Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Central Manchester Teaching Hospitals, Manchester, UK.
- 3Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Morriston Hospital, Swansea, UK.
- KMID: 2223087
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.5792/ksrr.2016.28.1.68
Abstract
- PURPOSE
The pattern of symptoms of knee osteoarthritis has been thought to be indicative of specific compartment involvement. This study investigated whether there was a true correlation between patellofemoral joint (PFJ) symptoms and unicompartmental patellofemoral arthritis.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A prospective analysis of 34 patients rendered to be suffering from PFJ osteoarthritis and subsequently undergoing unicompartmental patellofemoral arthroplasty (PFA) was performed. A control cohort of 32 patients suffering from medial tibiofemoral joint (MTFJ) osteoarthritis was included in the analysis. Four questions derived from the Oxford knee score questionnaire, traditionally deemed to be indicative of PFJ osteoarthritis, were combined to create a PFJ subscore and statistically analyzed for their potential relationship with PFJ osteoarthritis and outcomes following PFA.
RESULTS
The PFJ subscore indicated slightly worse pathology in patients undergoing PFA compared to MTFJ replacement, but the difference was not significant (9.7 and 9.6, respectively; p=0.851). The improvement in PFJ symptoms was higher in those undergoing PFA compared to MTFJ surgery; however, the difference was not statistically significant (3.7 and 2.2 respectively, p=0.074).
CONCLUSIONS
We were unable to prove that these symptoms were predictive of PFJ pathology in the preoperative setting, nor were they useful in interpreting which symptoms would likely improve following PFA.
