Multiple techniques have been suggested for the treatment of isolated knee articular cartilage injuries. For smaller lesions (<2-5 cm2), microfracture and osteochondral autograft transplantation (OAT) are commonly used options. With an increasing focus on health care efficiency, analyzing the cost-effectiveness of treatment modalities has become increasingly important. Published level 1 and 2 clinical studies with a 10-year follow-up demonstrated that the net cost and cost-effectiveness of microfracture and OAT are comparable for the treatment of isolated articular cartilage lesions of the distal femur.

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Five articles from the September 2015 issue summarized in five minutes, with the addition of a brief editorial commentary. The 5-in-5 feature is designed to give readers an overview of articles that may pique their interest and encourage more detailed reading. It may also be used by busy readers who would prefer a brief audio summary in order to select the articles they want to read in full. The featured articles for this month are “Factors Associated With Failure of Nonoperative Treatment in Lateral Epicondylitis,” “Select Injury-Related Variables Are Affected by Stride Length and Foot Strike Style During Running,” “The Effect of Diabetes, Hyperlipidemia, and Statins on the Development of Rotator Cuff Disease: A Nationwide, 11-Year, Longitudinal, Population-Based Follow-up Study,” “Relationship Between Quadriceps Strength and Patellofemoral Joint Chondral Lesions After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction,” and “Effects of Acetabular Rim Trimming on Hip Joint Contact Pressures: How Much Is Too Much?”