Analysis of the trends in arthroscopic meniscectomy and meniscus repair procedures in France from 2005 to 2017

  • Jacquet Christophe
  • Pujol Nicolas
  • Pauly Vanessa
  • Beaufils Philippe
  • Ollivier Matthieu

  • Meniscectomy
  • Meniscal repair
  • Meniscal suture
  • Meniscal tear
  • Epidemiology
  • France
  • Big data

ART

Introduction: In 2008, the French National Authority for Health (HAS) recommended that "conservative" treatments be adopted for meniscal lesions. This recommendation and the lack of superiority of menis-cectomy over non-operative treatment for meniscus degeneration have modified the treatment pathway. However, the impact of these findings on French clinical practice is not known. The objective of this study was to evaluate the change over time in the number of alternative surgical procedures (meniscectomy and meniscus repair) and regional variation in France using data from the French agency for information on hospital care (ATIH). Hypothesis: We hypothesized that the number of meniscectomy procedures will decrease, and the number of repair procedures will increase over time at various healthcare facilities. Patients and methods: Between 2005 and 2017, the number of hospitalizations in the Medicine-Surgery-Obstetrics wards for meniscectomy (NFFC003 and NFCC004) or meniscus repair (NFEC001 and NFEC002) was evaluated overall and then based on whether the stay occurred in public or private sector hospitals in France. Data were extracted from the ATIH database and the findings were (1) related to French demographics during the period in question; (2) separated into public or private sector hospitals; (3) distributed into various regions in France and; (4) stratified by patient age.