Comparative evaluation of patellar height methods in the Brazilian population

Abstract

ObjectiveThe methods most used for patellar height measurement were compared with the plateau–patella angle method.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted, in which lateral-view radiographs of the knee were evaluated using the three methods already established in the literature: Insall–Salvati (IS), Blackburne–Peel (BP) and Caton–Deschamps (CD). These were compared with the plateau–patella angle method. One hundred and ninety-six randomly selected patients were included in the sample.ResultsThe data were initially evaluated using the chi-square test. This analysis was deemed to be positive with p < 0.0001. We compared the traditional methods with the plateau–patella angle measurement, using Fisher's exact test. In comparing the IS index with the plateau–patella angle, we did not find any statistically significant differences in relation to the proportion of altered cases between the two groups. The traditional methods were compared with the plateau–patella angle with regard to the proportions of cases of high and low patella, by means of Fisher's exact test. This analysis showed that the plateau–patella angle identified fewer cases of high patella than did the IS, BP and CD methods, but more cases of low patella. In comparing pairs, we found that the IS and CD indices were capable of identifying more cases of high patella than was the plateau–patella angle. In relation to the cases of low patella, the plateau–patella angle was capable of identifying more cases than were the other three methods.ConclusionsThe plateau–patella angle found more patients with low patella than did the classical methods and showed results that diverged from those of the other indices studied.

Anatomic differences in patellar dimensions: A comparative study of left and right sides

“…This finding is consistent with previous studies conducted in different populations, such as Oladrin et al 7 who analyzed the patellar morphology of South Africans of European ancestry and reported similar findings. [15][16][17] The results of the present study have important clinical implications. For instance, the findings could be used to inform surgical procedures such as patellar resurfacing, total knee arthroplasty, and patellar realignment surgery.…”

A study of the possible effect of abnormal patella height on meniscal tears

“…6,8,15,18,19 Lateral radiographic studies of the knee in 30°and 90°fl exion demonstrated dissimilarities between IS and CD indexes on the same joint without suggesting a clear aetiology as to why such a difference between measurements exists. 20,21 A suspicion is that anatomical variations could disrupt measurements, affect indexes and alter results, such as morphological variations of the patella (i.e. long-nosed) can influence the reference points used to determine the Insall-Salvati ratio and a patella Alta can be misdiagnosed as normal.…”