Incidence, reason for treatment delay and patient-reported outcome of patients affected by a chronic Achilles tendon rupture in a Swedish population

BACKGROUND: As the incidence of ATR is increasing the risk of ruptures being missed escalates and more injuries are suspected to become chronic. This study aimed to assess the incidence and causes of delayed diagnosis in chronic ATR. Additionally, the patient-reported outcome of surgical versus non-surgical treatment following delayed presentation was evaluated. METHODS: The study is of patients with chronic ATR treated at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital between 2015 and 2020. Patients were identified using specific International Classification of Diseases (ICD) codes for ATR and included all patients in whom the treatment had been delayed for more than 14 days. The patients who accepted to participate in the study completed the Achilles tendon Total Rupture Score (ATRS) and a questionnaire regarding recovery rate in percentage. RESULTS: Out of the 958 patients with ATR, 102 were identified as chronic, comprising 11% of the overall dataset. A total of 75 patients were included. Patients with chronic injury exhibited higher age, BMI, and comorbidity rates compared with patients with acute ruptures. Fifty-two (84%) patients delayed seeking medical attention. The rates of patients initially receiving an incorrect diagnosis was low, with 10 (1%) directly associated with trauma and 28 (3%) during later medical visits. Patients that were surgically treated (n = 57) for their chronic Achilles tendon rupture yielded significantly higher median (IQR) ATRS scores; 77 (50 ; 92) vs. 34 (23 ; 82) and recovery rates; 85% (70 ; 95) vs. 40% (20 ; 78) compared with patients treated with a non-surgical approach (n = 18). CONCLUSIONS: This study reveals that chronic ATRs constitute a significant portion of all ATR. These were primarily due to "patient's delay" rather than the relatively rare misdiagnosis. Patient-reported outcomes, such as ATRS scores and self-reported recovery, exhibit considerable variability. Surgical intervention gave superior patient reported outcome compared with non-surgical treatment for patients affected by a chronic Achilles tendon rupture.