ACL Reconstruction: Clinical Outcome (RIC-ACL)

January 29, 2026 updated by: Stefano Zaffagnini

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: Clinical Outcome at Middle and Long Term Follow-Up

The study is intended to include all patients who will undergo surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The patients will be monitored and evaluated preoperatively and also at 6 months and 1, 2 and 5 years after the intervention through a clinical visit or telephone interview. Such assessments will include the administration of questionnaires to determine the patient's functional symptoms and the objective examination of the knee during a medical examination to quantify its stability.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The literature presents a number of studies on the reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament, as well as numerous registers, but the identification of factors and parameters determining the clinical outcomes remains largely debated. The study aims to offer new elements to analyze this treatment and potentially identify the factors responsible for the outcomes and the factors useful to optimize the clinical outcome in the future. In fact, in addition to collect patient data in terms of features and clinical-functional status, objective data will be documented and correlated. In particular the quantification of knee laxity will be performed using an innovative device based on the use of inertial sensors (a methodology recently developed and already validated at the Istituto Ortopedico Rizzoli). The study is intended to include all patients who will undergo surgical reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). These patients will be followed and evaluated preoperatively, at 6 months and at 1, 2 and 5 years after surgery during a clinical visit or a telephone interview. Such evaluations will include the submission of questionnaires to determine the patient's functional symptoms and also knee joint assessment during a medical examination to quantify the knee joint stability.

Moreover, the following clinical scores will be adopted: IKDC-subjective, IKDC-objective, SF12, Marxs, Koos, Tegner, VAS for pain assessment, EQ-VAS for overall health status assessment. Also it will be recorded the lapse of time for returning to work and sports, the degree of patient satisfaction,the adverse events, the failures and any new treatments on the same site.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

1000

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

    • Italia
      • Bologna, Italia, Italy

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 60 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with ACL lesions and undergoing to surgical ACL reconstruction

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients who have provided informed written written consent;
  2. Patients aged between 18 and 60;
  3. Patients undergoing reconstructive surgical treatment of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL)

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Patients unable to understand and to want;
  2. Patients who have not signed informed consent;

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Knee Laxity Assessment
Time Frame: 5 years
Laxity Evaluation with KiRA device
5 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
SF12 Score
Time Frame: 5 years
The SF-12v2 is an abbreviated version of the SF-36. SF-36 is the best-known and most widely used measure of health-related quality of life in the international literature. It measures different health concepts through 36 multiple-choice questions, data are aggregated into 8 scales investigating: physical activity, role and physical health, physical pain, Health in general, vitality, social activities, role and emotional state, mental health, a question on change in health status during the last year is also added.
5 years
Marx Activity Rating Score
Time Frame: 5 years
The Marx Scale consists of four questions concerning four activities or actions: running, cutting, deceleration, and pivoting. The patient or survey respondent is asked to report on the frequency with which they performed the activity in their healthiest state within the past year.
5 years
KOOS Score
Time Frame: 5 years

KOOS SCORE consists of 5 subscales and covers: pain (9 items), symptoms (7 items, two of which are related to stiffness), functions and activities of daily living (17 items), physical function, sports and leisure activities (5 items) and quality of life in relation to the knee (4 items).

Each question is scored from 0 to 4, where 0 indicates "no difficulty" and 4 "severe difficulty. Score range 0-100 for each subscale

5 years
IKDC Score
Time Frame: 5 years
This is a subjective, knee-specific rating scale that is considered one of the most reliable assessment tools in the evaluation of knee pathologies. All questions examines 3 categories: symptoms, sports activity, and knee function.
5 years
VAS Score
Time Frame: 5 years
VAS is a visual analogue scale consisting of a range scale (10 cm length), the ends of which correspond to "no pain" and "the strongest pain imaginable"
5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 17, 2020

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2030

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2030

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 29, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 15, 2018

First Posted (Actual)

February 22, 2018

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

February 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 29, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 0007043

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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