Abstract
Although the consequences of traumatic meniscus tears and the importance of meniscal
repair are well-established in adults, the same cannot be said for the young population.
Better evidence regarding the outcomes following traumatic meniscal tears in children
would improve our understanding of this increasing pathology and help define important
factors in deciding the best treatment option. A systematic review was performed according
to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis guidelines
using the Cochrane Database of Systematic Review, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled
Trials, MEDLINE Ovid, and MEDLINE PubMed databases. Inclusion criteria were as follows:
studies reporting the outcomes of meniscal repair in patients 18 years old or younger,
with a minimum mean follow-up of 12 months, Portuguese, Spanish, or English languages,
and human studies including 10 or more patients. Our search identified 2,534 individual
titles. After application of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 8 studies were
included, evaluating 287 patients with repaired meniscal tears. All eight studies
were classified as level of evidence IV. The mean methodological index for nonrandomized
studies score was 8.6 ± 1.4. Meniscal repair included all meniscal zones and tear
patterns. Anterior cruciate ligament tear was the most common associated injury. The
all-inside and inside-out techniques were predominantly reported. The majority of
the patients reported good to excellent outcomes and had clinical signals of meniscal
healing; meniscectomies following meniscal repair were performed in just 44 cases.
In conclusion, meniscal tears in pediatrics are not uncommon. Repairs of this injury
were associated with good to excellent outcomes in most patients, regardless of the
injury pattern, zone, or technique. Reported complications were minimal; however,
higher quality studies are needed to confirm the findings of this systematic review.
This is a systematic review study with Level IV.
Keywords
knee injury - meniscus tear - meniscal repair - pediatrics
