The registry would improve anterior cruciate ligament treatments and reduce disease burden from major knee injuries, experts say.
The Australian Orthopoedic Association has called for the urgent establishment of a national anterior cruciate ligament injury registry to manage the growing number of ACL cases.
The registry would collect and analyse national level data and support clinical decision-making, to reduce the national disease burden of ACL injury. Clinicians currently lack information needed to identify best practice for ACL treatment.
Australia has the highest rates of ACL injury in the world, with the greatest recent increase occurring among young females, likely due to the rising profile of professional women’s sport, including netball, rugby league, Australian rules, soccer and cricket.
“Australia undertakes 15,000 ACL reconstructions costing more than $180 million annually, with failure rates as high as 20% in high-risk youth,” said Professor Chris Morrey, AOA president.
“Sports injuries are the number one reason for youth admission to hospital. A national ACL injury register is desperately needed that would not only save a significant amount of money, but would also prevent kids hurting themselves and getting severe knee osteoarthritis or worse in the future,” he said.
“Like the world-leading AOA national joint replacement registry, an ACL registry will build capacity for research with access to low-cost nested trials and establish a source of national soft-tissue injury advice while monitoring the impact of changes in practice and improvements in patient outcomes.
“Australian children are suffering severe but preventable injuries that affect the rest of their lives. The AOA will continue to raise awareness to obtain broad support for a federally funded ACL Injury Register that will keep our kids out of operating theatres and back on the field.”
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