Clinical Outcome Assessment of Repaired Articular Cartilage

Measuring outcomes following articular cartilage repair should be performed using instruments that have demonstrated content validity as well as adequate psychometric properties including reliability, construct validity and responsiveness in this population of interest. As per the International Cartilage Repair Society (ICRS) recommendation, the primary outcome for articular cartilage surgery should be either the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) or the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC). Secondary outcomes should include an activity scale as well as a measure of generic health-related quality of life (QoL) which can concomitantly allow for an evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of a group of interventions. Such a biopsychosocial approach towards outcome measurement will allow for a comprehensive understanding of how patients experience articular cartilage pathology and how they respond to treatment over time.