Influence of Baseline Magnetic Resonance Imaging Features on Outcome of Arthroscopic Meniscectomy and Physical Therapy Treatment of Meniscal Tears in Osteoarthritis

Background:Arthroscopic partial meniscectomy (APM) is used to treat meniscal tears, although its efficacy is controversial.Purpose:This study used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine characteristics that lead to greater benefit from APM and physical therapy (PT) than from PT alone among patients with meniscal tear and knee osteoarthritis.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.Methods:Using data from the Meniscal Tear in Osteoarthritis Research (MeTeOR) trial, the authors first assessed whether the effect of treatment on pain scores at 6 months differed according to baseline MRI features (bone marrow lesions, cartilage and meniscal damage). Second, the authors summed MRI features associated with differential pain relief between APM and PT to create a “damage score,” which included bone marrow lesion number and cartilage damage size with possible values of 0 (least damage), 1 (moderate), and 2 (greatest). The authors used linear models to determine whether the association between damage s...