The researchers examined data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey and National Survey of Ambulatory Surgery for ACL tears. The researchers found:
1. ACL reconstruction increased from 86,687 procedures in 1994 to 129,863 procedures in 2006.
2. In 1994, the ACL reconstruction rate was 23.9 per 100,000 person-years; in 2006 that grew to 43.5 per 100,000 person-years.
3. Among patients younger than 20 years old and those older than 40, ACL reconstructions increased during the study period.
4. ACL reconstruction increased from 10.36 per 100,000 person-years in 1996 to 18.06 per 100,000 person-years in 2006 among females.
5. There was slower growth in the ACL reconstruction rate among men; the data showed ACL reconstruction incidence at 2.58 per 100,000 person-years in 1994 and 25.42 per 100,000 person-years in 2006.
6. Around 95 percent of the ACL reconstructions were performed in the outpatient setting in 2006; the rate was 43 percent in 1994.
7. The most common concomitant procedures were partial meniscectomy and chondroplasty.
8. Targeting prevention and outcomes measures among the groups most at-risk could help research efforts and cost-saving measures, concluded the study authors.
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