Abstract
BackgroundScintigraphy has been considered as competitive to MRI, but limited data are available on the accuracy of single photon emission tomography (SPECT) compared with MRI for the assessment of meniscal tears. Our objective was to assess the value of SPECT in comparison to MRI.MethodsBetween January 2003 and March 2004, sixteen patients were studied with both modalities and the accuracy rates of SPECT scan results, and MRI findings in the diagnosis of meniscal tears were compared. Arthroscopy was the gold standard.ResultsThe respective sensitivity rate, specificity rate, and positive and negative predictive accuracies of MRI were 89%, 94%, 93%, and 79% and for SPECT those were 78%, 94%, 94%, and 88%. There was good agreement on the presence or absence of tears between two modalities (κ statistic = 0.699).ConclusionSPECT and MRI are both valuable imaging techniques. SPECT is a useful alternative when MRI is unavailable or unsuitable and it is beneficial when more possible accuracy is desired (such as when MRI results are either inconclusive or conflict with other clinical data).
Highlights
Scintigraphy has been considered as competitive to MRI, but limited data are available on the accuracy of single photon emission tomography (SPECT) compared with MRI for the assessment of meniscal tears
This study reports the results of a recent prospective evaluation of MRI and SPECT bone scintigraphy and compares them with the results of arthroscopy as the gold standard test for the diagnosis of meniscal tears
One knee showed generalized increased uptake on bone SPECT images, in which the exact anatomical location of the pathologic process could not be determined and this finding was categorized as false-negative for meniscal tear
Summary
Scintigraphy has been considered as competitive to MRI, but limited data are available on the accuracy of single photon emission tomography (SPECT) compared with MRI for the assessment of meniscal tears. It is not widely carried out in clinical practice, nuclear medicine procedures have been used in diagnosing meniscal tears and some authors have demonstrated the usefulness of SPECT in the assessment of knee injuries [2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. Few studies have compared bone scintigraphy and MR imaging and limited data are available on the accuracy of SPECT compared with that of MRI for the assessment of meniscal tears. It was emphasized that further work should be undertaken to evaluate the role of SPECT as a screening test for the evaluation of knee disorders
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