ACL Reconstruction: Clinical Outcome (RIC-ACL)

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: ACL Injury
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: ACL reconstruction

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

• Study Contact: Name: Stefano Zaffagnini, MD; Phone Number: 0516366567; Email: stefano.zaffagnini@ior.it
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Roberta Licciardi, MD; Phone Number: 051 6366567; Email: roberta.licciardi@ior.it

Study Locations

• Italy
  • Italia
    • Bologna, Italia, Italy
      • Recruiting
      • Stefano Zaffagnini
      • Contact: Stefano Zaffagnini, MD; Phone Number: 051 6366075; Email: stefano.zaffagnini@unibo.it

Participation Criteria

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

How is the study designed?

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

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

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
SF12 Score	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	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	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	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	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

• Sponsor: Stefano Zaffagnini

Study record dates

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

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Wounds and Injuries; Leg Injuries; Knee Injuries; Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries
• 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