Guidelines
Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) clinical practice guidelines on the management of anterior cruciate ligament injury – Secondary publication

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jos.2019.10.009Get rights and content
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Abstract

Background

This clinical guideline presents recommendations for the management of patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, endorsed by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) and Japanese Orthopaedic Society of Knee, Arthroscopy and Sports Medicine (JOSKAS).

Methods

The JOA ACL guideline committee revised the previous guideline based on “Medical Information Network Distribution Service Handbook for Clinical Practice Guideline Development 2014”, which proposed a desirable method for preparing clinical guidelines in Japan. Furthermore, the importance of “the balance of benefit and harm” was also emphasized. This guideline consists of 21 clinical questions (CQ) and 23 background questions (BQ). For each CQ, outcomes from the literature were collected and evaluated systematically according to the adopted study design.

Results

We evaluated the objectives and results of each study in order to make a decision on the level of evidence so as to integrate the results with our recommendations for each CQ. For BQ, the guideline committee proposed recommendations based on the literature.

Conclusions

This guideline is intended to be used by physicians, orthopedic surgeons, physical therapists, and athletic trainers managing ACL injuries. We hope that this guideline is useful for appropriate decision-making and improved management of ACL injuries.

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The original version of this article was published in Japanese as “Zenjujijintai(ACL) Sonshou Shinryo Guidelines 2019”, the 3rd edition from the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA), published by Nankodo, Tokyo, 2019.