MERI Project
AOSSM is also seeking members to participate in the Multi-Center Evaluation of the Responsiveness of
the IKDC (MERI) Study. This project is designed to evaluate and compare the responsiveness to
change of several measures commonly used in patients undergoing knee surgery: the IKDC Subjective
Knee Form, the WOMAC, the Cincinnati Knee Rating System, and the SF-36. The specific patient population
targeted for this study are those individuals who receive any form of surgical articular cartilage
repair procedure for at least one symptomatic full thickness (Outerbridge Grade III or IV) lesion of
the femoral condyle or trochlea. These procedures can include debridement, marrow stimulation
techniques such as microfracture, drilling or abrasion arthroplasty, osteochondral autograft or
allograft transplantation, mosiacplasty or autologous cartilage implantation. Any surgeon who
performs at least three of these procedures a year is welcome to participate.
The basic procedure is that a potential subject is briefly screened by a nurse or research assistant.
A patient who meets all inclusion criteria then completes the four measures mentioned above prior to surgery.
These measures can either be completed using traditional paper-and-pencil forms or via the internet. After
surgery, the surgeon or nurse completes a brief questionnaire about surgical findings and procedures completed.
A patient who meets the inclusion criteria based on surgical data will then complete follow-up measures at
6-months and 12-months post-surgery. Patients receive $25 for each assessment completed.
Documents, forms, and IRB templates for this study can be downloaded below for review:
Initial Patient Screening Questions
Baseline Assessment Forms
Follow-up Assessment Forms
Surgical Data Sheet
IRB Submission Template
Sample Consent Form
Protocol Outline
For more information, please contact Bart Mann (bart@aossm.org; 847-292-4900) at the AOSSM office.
Treatment of Pediatric ACL Injury
At its March 2004 meeting, the Board approved a proposal for the Research
Committee to oversee the development of a multi-center study of treatments
for pediatric ACL injury (click here for more details). Dr. Mininder Kocher
was appointed to chair the subcommittee that will design this project. The
planning committee is currently in the process of developing a preliminary
study proposal. The finalized study design will be submitted to the Board
for review early next year. If the Board approves the proposal, AOSSM will
invite members to participate in the project.
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