Posterior Tibial Slope and a New Morphometric Method With Multiplanar Reconstruction Technique in a Turkish Sample

Abstract

Aim: The posterior tibial slope (PTS) is important in planning many orthopedic procedures. The aim of the study is to outline a PTS measurement method using multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) in knee computed tomography (CT) images. Methods: MPR reconstruction was performed on pre-captured CT angio images of 124 patients. A standard tibial axis was created. Then, using reference points, the PTS was measured separately for the medial PTS (MPTS) and lateral PTS (LPTS). To identify an intra-and interobserver error, the technical error of measurement (TEM), relative TEM (rTEM), and coefficient of reliability (R) of the measurement were analyzed.Results: The study enrolled 124 patients (88 males, 36 females) from 18 to 92 years old. The average MPTS 8.63 ± 2.7° and LPTS 7.77 ± 3.1° were significantly different (p < 0.05). However, there was no difference between the sexes (p = 0.52 for MPTS; p = 0.9 for LPTS). The R for intraobserver reliability was 0.942 for the MPTS and 0.943 for the LPTS, and that for interobserver reliability was 0.815 and 0.806, respectively.Conclusions: PTS measurement from CT images appears advantageous as it eliminates measurement limitations due to tibial rotation and has high intra-and interobserver consistency.