Background: The best type of autograft for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction remains debatable.
Hypothesis: Compared with bone-patellar tendon-bone (BPTB) and hamstring tendon (HT) autografts, the quadriceps tendon (QT) autograft has comparable graft survival as well as clinical function and pain outcomes.
Study design: Meta-analysis; Level of evidence, 4.
Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library to July 2020. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and observational studies reporting comparisons of QT versus BPTB or HT autografts for ACL reconstruction were included. All analyses were stratified according to study design: RCTs or observational studies.
Results: A total of 24 studies were included: 7 RCTs and 17 observational studies. The 7 RCTs included 388 patients, and the 17 observational studies included 19,196 patients. No significant differences in graft failure (P = .36), the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective score (P = .39), or the side-to-side difference in stability (P = .60) were noted between QT and BPTB autografts. However, a significant reduction in donor site morbidity was noted in the QT group compared with the BPTB group (risk ratio [RR], 0.17 [95% CI, 0.09-0.33]; P < .001). No significant differences in graft failure (P = .57), the IKDC subjective score (P = .25), or the side-to-side stability difference (P = .98) were noted between QT and HT autografts. However, the QT autograft was associated with a significantly lower rate of donor site morbidity than the HT autograft (RR, 0.60 [95% CI, 0.39-0.93]; P = .02). A similar graft failure rate between the QT and control groups was observed after both early and late full weightbearing, after early and late full range of motion, and after using the QT autograft with a bone plug and all soft tissue QT grafts. However, a significantly lower rate of donor site morbidity was observed in the QT group compared with the control group after both early and late full weightbearing, after early and late full range of motion, and after using the QT autograft with a bone plug and all soft tissue QT grafts. No difference in effect estimates was seen between RCTs and observational studies.
Conclusion: The QT autograft had comparable graft survival, functional outcomes, and stability outcomes compared with BPTB and HT autografts. However, donor site morbidity was significantly lower with the QT autograft than with BPTB and HT autografts.
Keywords: anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction; bone–patellar tendon–bone; hamstring tendon; quadriceps tendon.