|
PRACTICAL
SIGNIFICANCE
Although
cruciate
ligament
(CL)
injuries
are
common
in
individuals
who
participate
in
physical
activity
and
sport,
the
epidemiology
of these
injuries
remain
unclear.
This
study
was able
to
determine
the
number
of
cruciate
ligament
injuries
that
occur
annually,
as well
as
describe
the
burden
placed
on the
healthcare
system
by this
injury.
STUDY
BACKGROUND
Despite
the
significance
of CL
injury,
the
basic
epidemiology
of
injury
to the
anterior
and
posterior
cruciate
ligaments
is not
well
documented.
The only
previous
report
specific
to a
managed
care
population
addressed
this
issue in
one
state
(California)
and is
over 20
years
old.
Thus,
the
purpose
of this
investigation
was to
address
this gap
in the
literature
by
establishing
the
descriptive
epidemiology
of CL
injury
using a
nationally-
representative
sample.
OBJECTIVE
To
establish
the
incidence
and rate
of CL
injuries
that
occurs
annually
in the
U.S. and
the
burden
these
injuries
place on
the
healthcare
system.
DESIGN
AND
SETTING
Cross-sectional
surveys
per-formed
by the
National
Center
for
Health
Statistics
(NCHS)
provided
a
population-based
sample
of
visits
to
physician
in
private
practice,
hospital
outpatient
clinics,
and
emergency
departments
from
1997 to
2004 for
this
analysis.
SUBJECTS
Patients
identified
via
secondary
data
analysis
who
completed
surveys
following
physician
visits
served
as
subjects.
MEASUREMENTS
Frequencies
and
estimates
of the
annual
number
of
incident
CL
injuries
were
computed
on the
NCHS
data
set.
RESULTS
There
are
577,400
(95%CI:
393,100
-
761,700)
physician
visits
annually
in the
U.S. for
care of
acute CL
injury.
Since
20% of
visits
were for
initial
care of
an
injury,
there
are
112,500
(95%CI:
31,100 -
193,800)
acute
incident
CL
injuries
annually,
for a
rate of
about 1
per
2,500
persons
annually.
Nearly
1/3 of
all
injuries
were to
15-24
year
olds.
The rate
in this
age
group
was 1
per
1,100
persons
annually.
Males
accounted
for 56%
of CL
injuries
and
sports/recreational
activities
accounted
for 79%
of CL
injuries.
There
are
75,000
(95%CI:
24,800 –
123,900)
surgical
reconstructions
of the
CL
annually
(not
including
inpatient
surgery).
CONCLUSIONS
This
study
provides
the
first
comprehensive
and
reliable
national
statistics
on the
incidence
of CL
injury
in the
U.S.
Moreover,
these
data
begin to
uncover
the
large
burden
placed
on the
healthcare
system
as a
result
of this
injury.
|
Publication
and
Presentation
List:
-
Marshall
SW,
Padua
DA,
McGrath
ML.
Incidence
of
Cruciate
Ligament
(CL)
Injury
in
the
United
States,
1997-2004.
NATA
Annual
Meeting.
Anaheim,
CA,
June
2007.
|
|
Stephen W. Marshall, PhD
Principal Investigator |
|
Stephen W. Marshall earned his PhD in Epidemiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1998. Currently, Dr. Marshall is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology and Director of the Injury Program in the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Additionally, he holds a joint appointment in the Department of Orthopedics in the School of Medicine, an adjunct appointment in the Department of Exercise and Sport Science, and is Core Faculty in the UNC Injury Prevention Research Center. Dr. Marshall is a sports injury epidemiologist with research interests in studying risk factors for sports injury, preventing sports injury, and evaluation of sports injury interventions. Specifically, he has addressed risk factors for rugby injury, high school sports injuries in North Carolina, protective equipment in youth baseball, prevention and management of concussions, and risk factors for ACL injury. He has numerous research publications in these areas, and has his research has been well-funded. |
| |
|
Stephen W. Marshall, PhD
Sports Medicine Research Laboratory
The University of North Carolina
CB# 8700, Fetzer Gymnasium South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Tel: 919.962.7187
Fax: 919.962.0489
smarshall@unc.edu |
|
|
This
Grant
Information
Summary
may be
downloaded
in a
2-page
pdf file
from
http://www.natafoundation.org/pdfs/07Marshall.pdf . |
Back to
July 30, 2008
eBlast
Newsletter
Send e-mail
to johno@nata.org with questions
or
comments
about this web site. |
