Diagnosis and management of meniscal injury in dogs with cranial cruciate ligament rupture: a systematic literature review

ObjectiveTo systematically evaluate the evidence reporting the frequency and risk factors of meniscal injury in dogs with cranial cruciate ligament failure. Study DesignSystematic literature review. Materials and MethodsResearch questions were defined. An electronic database search of PubMed and CAB Abstracts was performed during November 2013. Data were extracted for study participants, design, intervention, outcome measures and results. Studies were evaluated using a validated instrument for assessing methodological quality and assigned a quality index score. A level of evidence was then assigned to each study. ResultsSixty-two studies were identified. The median quality index score was 14 out of a possible 26. Twenty-four studies were prospective case series, 37 retrospective case series and 1 animal research study. There were no class I or class II studies, 24 class III studies and 38 class IV studies. Clinical SignificanceDespite a large number of publications the quality of evidence was generally low. No one study or combination of studies provided high quality evidence to establish the true frequency or risk factors for meniscal injury in dogs with cranial cruciate ligament failure.