Increase in Outpatient Knee Arthroscopy in the United States: A Comparison of National Surveys of Ambulatory Surgery, 1996 and 2006

This study was proposed to investigate the changes in the utilization of knee arthroscopy in an ambulatory setting over the past decade in the United States as well as its implications.

The National Survey of Ambulatory Surgery, last carried out in 1996, was conducted again in 2006 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We analyzed the cases with procedure coding indicative of knee arthroscopy or anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. To produce estimates for all arthroscopic procedures on the knee in an ambulatory setting in the United States for each year, we performed a design-based statistical analysis.