Reliability Assessment of Arthroscopic Findings Versus MRI in ACL Injuries of the Knee

Abstract

Introduction:This study was conducted to analyze the reliability of clinical diagnosis in ACL tear injuries.Material and methods:All patients attending our clinic with knee pain from 2009 to 2013 underwent systematic and thorough clinical assessment. From one hundred and three patients with knee problems in 73 were arhroscopicaly diagnosed ACL tears. All these patients underwent therapeutic arthroscopic knee surgery. The clinical diagnosis was confirmed during this procedure. The accuracy, sensitivity and specificity were calculated based on these arthroscopic findings.Results:The accuracy of clinical diagnosis in our study was 82.5% for ACL tears. Our study revealed high sensitivity and specificity and almost high accuracy for ACL injuries of knee joint in comparison to arthroscopy. MRI is an appropriate screening tool for therapeutic arthroscopy, making diagnostic arthroscopy unnecessary in most patients.Conclusion:Magnetic resonance imaging is accurate and non invasive modality for the assessment of ligamentous injuries. It can be used as a first line investigation in patients with soft tissue trauma to knee.

Diagnostic accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging in detecting anterior cruciate ligament injuries

“…Kostov H. et al 6 reported 83% sensitivity, 88.37% specificity, 93% positive predictive value, 74.5% negative predictive value, 82.5% accuracy in detecting anterior cruciate ligament. The prevalence of ACL tear in knee injuries is 14.4%.…”

“…The Lanchman test is most sensitive for anterior tibial displacement. [4][5][6] Imaging and arthroscopy are two most common modalities. Magnetic resonance imaging has several advantages over arthroscopy.…”

MRI Assessment of Painful Knee Joint in Meenakshi Mission Hospital and Research Centre, Madurai, Tamil Nadu: A Cross- Sectional Study

“…MRI demonstrates the sensitivity and specificity of 90% for detecting meniscal tear and its sensitivity and specificity approaches 100% in cruciate ligaments injury. 4…”

Anatomy and Physiology of Knee Stability

“…As a result, it is the most frequently injured and has been the major focus of studies in recent decades, and its importance and fundamental role in knee stability has led to a substantial body of work investigating its anatomy [16,17], physiology [18,19], biomechanics [20][21][22], assessment [23][24][25][26][27], risks [28,29], and rehabilitation [30][31][32][33][34]. The ACL is supplied by branches of the genicular artery, which consists of two bundles, the anteromedial and posterolateral.…”