Magnetic resonance imaging vs. arthroscopy in diagnosing anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus injuries - is there a difference

Abstract

Introduction/Objective. The knee joint is prone to injuries caused by direct or indirect trauma. The meniscus and ligament injuries, cannot be completely diagnosed with clinical examination, therefore we use additional non-invasive and invasive diagnostic methods such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and arthroscopy. The aim was to compare the accuracy of MRI and objective knee findings based on arthroscopic examination in case of meniscus and anterior cruciate ligament injuries. Methods. The study involved 50 patients treated with elective surgery which mandatory involved arthroscopic visualization of the knee structures. We compared the MRI findings, obtained from different institutions, and arthroscopic knee findings for all the patients involved in the study. Results. There were 50 patients included in the study with mean age of 31 years. MRI showed that Anterior cruciate ligament was damaged in 41 patients, while arthroscopy confirmed damage in 43 patients. Medial meniscus was damaged in 31 patients on MRI and in 27 on arthroscopic examination. Lateral meniscus was injured in 35 patients on MRI and arthroscopy showed damage in 32 patients. Using ?2 test we found no significant difference between MRI and arthroscopy as diagnostic methods. Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test shows similar results between MRI and arthroscopy findings. Conclusion. A comparative analysis of MRI and arthroscopy diagnostic value in case of anterior cruciate ligament, medial meniscus and lateral meniscus injuries have shown that there is no significant difference between these two methods.