Optimized Referral of Knee Patients at the Clinic of Sports Injuries

Danish Title: Optimeret Visitation af Midaldrende knæpatienter Med Symptomer Muligvis Relateret Til Meniskskade

The aim of the study is to evaluate an algorithm to screen patients with a possibility of meniscal injury referred to a sports injury outpatient clinic by using patient-reported symptoms. It will be investigated whether the algorithm is able to identify which patients are deemed relevant to undergo assessment by a physician (i.e. in case the patient need to undergo surgery) and which patients are relevant to undergo assessment by a physiotherapist. This will be evaluated by estimating the sensitivity of the new algorithm compared to actual relevancy based on the traditional clinical assessment of the patients.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Knee Injuries; Knee; Injury, Meniscus (Lateral) (Medial)
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Assessment at the Clinic of Sports Injuries

Detailed Description

According to current practice, patients referred to the Clinic of Sports Injuries will be assessed by either a physician or a physiotherapist. Current practice will continue unchanged during this study.

Before the scheduled assessment, patients will be asked to fulfill a questionnaire including KOOS, a further description of symptoms, previous treatment by physiotherapist and expected upcoming treatment (i.e. surgery or referral to physiotherapist).

An algorithm based on the self-reported information will be used to categorize whether the patient are considered relevant to be referred to assessment by a physician or to assessment by a physiotherapist.

After clinical assessment of the patient, the physician or physiotherapist does a registration of diagnosis, choice of treatment and complexity. Based on choice of treatment and complexity, the patient will be categorized as either relevant to be referred to assessment by a physician or to assessment by a physiotherapist. This categorization is by definition considered correct.

The ability of the algorithm will be evaluated by comparing it's categorization to the correct result. Sensitivity will be estimated.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 182

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Denmark
  • Silkeborg, Denmark, 8600
    • Silkeborg Regional Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 35 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Middle aged patients with knee symptoms referred to the Clinic of Sports Injuries

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients above the age of 35 referred to the Clinic of Sports Injuries with knee symptoms

Exclusion Criteria:

• Cognitive or language problems that precludes the filling of the questionnaires
• Previous surgery in the knee
• Symptoms only located in the anterior part of the knee

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Patients with knee injuries; Patients referred to assessment at the Clinic of Sports Injuries	Other: Assessment at the Clinic of Sports Injuries; Assessment at the Clinic of Sports Injuries as well as a new algorithm (using patient-reported symptoms will be applied

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
"Relevant referral to assessment by physician" or "Relevant referral to assessment by physiotherapist"	Up to 4 weeks (at the initial visit at the Clinic of Sports Injuries)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS)	At baseline

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Choice of treatment	Referral to physical therapy, surgery, information and advice, other	Up to 4 weeks (at the initial visit at the Clinic of Sports Injuries)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Central Jutland Regional Hospital
• Collaborators: University of Aarhus
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Merete Nørgaard Madsen, PT, University of Aarhus

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 20, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 29, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): February 3, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 12, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 11, 2017
• Last Verified: January 1, 2016

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Leg Injuries; Wounds and Injuries; Knee Injuries
• Other Study ID Numbers: 6300002

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO