Anterior cruciate ligament tear: indirect signs at MR imaging.

Abstract
PURPOSE: To establish the sensitivity and specificity of indirect signs at magnetic resonance (MR) imaging of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear. MATERIALS AND METHODS: MR images of the knees of 89 consecutive patients (54 with torn and 35 with normal ACLs) were reviewed. RESULTS: The indirect signs were as follows (first percentage is sensitivity; the second, specificity): angle between lateral tibial plateau and ACL less than 45 degrees (90%, 97%); angle between Blumenstaat line and ACL more than 15 degrees (89%, 100%); bone contusions in lateral compartment (54%, 100%); position of posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) line (52%, 91%); PCL angle less than 107 degrees (52%, 94%); PCL bowing ratio more than 0.39 (34%, 100%); posterior displacement of lateral meniscus more than 3.5 mm (44%, 94%); anterior displacement of tibia more than 7 mm (41%, 91%); and lateral femoral sulcus deeper than 1.5 mm (19%, 100%). CONCLUSION: Because the specificity is high, the presence of indirect signs corroborates the dia...

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: