Anterior cruciate XXXX in pediatric athletes presenting to sports medicine clinic: a comparison of males and females through growth and development.

@entity1 @entity130
BACKGROUND: Limited data exist regarding the effect of the growth process on anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk in male versus female @entity1 . HYPOTHESIS: The proportion of @entity130 /sports injuries presenting to clinic will vary by age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). STUDY DESIGN: Cross-sectional epidemiologic study. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 3. METHODS: The study group consisted of a randomly selected 5% probability sample of all @entity1 5 to 17 years of age presenting to a sports medicine clinic from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2009; 2133 charts were reviewed. Data collected included demographics, height and weight, injury mechanism, diagnosis, treatment, @entity130 , and organized sports. RESULTS: A total of 206 ACL tears were analyzed (104 @entity1 , 102 @entity1 ). @entity1 were slightly older than @entity1 (15.1    1.7 vs 14.3    2.1 years; P < 0.01). Male-female comparison of @entity130 /total injury by age revealed that @entity1 had a steeper increase by age than @entity1 . Among 5- to 12-year-olds, @entity1 had a higher @entity130 /total injury ratio than @entity1 (all P < 0.01). @entity1 13 to 17 years of age showed no significant difference for sex in @entity130 /total injury ratio. As age advanced, the proportion of @entity130 /total injuries increased for both @entity1 (P < 0.01) and @entity1 (P = 0.04). BMI was independently associated with an @entity130 (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The proportion of @entity130 /total injuries was similar for @entity1 and @entity1 aged 13 to 17 years. @entity1 showed a significantly steeper increase in @entity130 proportion versus @entity1 through puberty. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study will increase clinician awareness of @entity130 occurrence in young male and female athletes 5 to 12 years of age. Injury prevention efforts should target young @entity1 before the onset of puberty and before injury occurs.
