MRI evaluation of traumatic ACL and associated injuries of knee with arthroscopy correlation

Abstract

Background: Knee joint injuries causing internal derangements can lead to failure of the normal functions of the knee joint and can lead to disruption of the daily activities of the patient. Thus, it is of prime importance to accurately diagnose internal derangements of the knee. Aims & Objectives: To study Anterior cruciate ligament injury (ACL) and other internal derangements of the knee with Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) and compare it with Arthroscopy, the gold standard modality.Methods: A prospective observational study done from 2015 to 2016 at Kamineni Hospitals, Hyderabad, India on 45 patients. Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive predictive value (PPV) and Negative predictive value (NPV) were calculated and Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 17. Results: Sensitivity, Specificity, PPV, NPV and Accuracy for Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries detected by MRI were 100%, 90%, 93%, 100% and 95% respectively. For Lateral Meniscal (LM) injuries, the values were 72%, 70%, 62%, 80% and 71% respectively. For Medial Meniscal (MM) injuries, the values were 70%, 78%, 67%, 81% and 76% respectively. Conclusion: MRI has high accuracy in diagnosing ACL injuries and other causes of internal derangement of the knee. MRI should be the first line of investigation to avoid subjecting the patient to unnecessary arthroscopy.