Co-relation between clinical, MRI and arthroscopic findings in meniscal injuries

Abstract

The aim of this prospective study is to correlate clinical, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and arthroscopic findings in cases of meniscal tear injuries. MRI scan results and clinical diagnosis are compared against the arthroscopic confirmation of the diagnosis. Thirty patients had suspected traumatic meniscal injury. Clinical examination had better sensitivity (77.77% vs. 69.23%), predictive values, and diagnostic accuracy (87.85% vs. 87.54%) in comparison to MRI scan in diagnosis for medial meniscal tears. These parameters showed only marginal difference in lateral meniscal injuries. We conclude that carefully performed clinical examination can give equal or better diagnosis of meniscal injuries in comparison to MRI scan. MRI may be used to rule out such injuries rather than to diagnose them.