Clinical Effectiveness of Various Surgical Reconstruction Modalities for Acute ACJ Separation: Protocol for a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

INTRODUCTION: Acute acromioclavicular joint separation is a common injury to the shoulder. Various surgical reconstruction methods exist when operative management is required, but the optimal procedure is not known. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to review the literature to assess the clinical effectiveness of various surgical reconstruction modalities used for acute ACJ separation. METHODS: The study protocol was designed and registered prospectively on PROSPERO (International prospective register for systematic reviews). Literature search will include MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and The Cochrane Library electronic databases. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating surgical procedures for acute acromioclavicular joint (ACJ) separation will be included. Our primary outcome is any functional patient-reported outcome measure related to the shoulder. Secondary outcomes may include radiological measurements, objective measurements of strength testing, range of motion, other patient-reported outcome measures not specific to the shoulder such as the Visual-Analog Scale (VAS) for pain, timelines for return to sport or work, and rate of complications. Risk of bias will be assessed within each study using The Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool 2.0 and the Jadad score. Inconsistency and bias across included studies will be assessed statistically. Comparable outcome data will be pooled and analysed quantitatively or qualitatively as appropriate. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study did not require ethical clearance. We plan to publish this systematic review and meta-analysis in a peer-reviewed journal and present the results at various national and international conferences. HIGHLIGHTS: There is currently variation in surgical synthetic ligament reconstruction techniques for acute acromioclavicular separation, with no clear consensus established. This systematic review evaluates the clinical effectiveness of various surgical reconstruction modalities used for acute ACJ separation. Our primary outcome is any functional patient-reported outcome measure related to the shoulder.