Abstract
Objective To identify the effects of gender, age, height and weight on the diagnostic value of digital radiographic measurements for injury to the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis. Methods The tibiofibular joint and ankle joint space in the digital X-ray films of 492 normal Chinese people (306 males and 186 females) were measured. Their average age was 35.2 (range, 13 to 82) years old. Their average height was 169.2(range, 152.3 to 190.4) cm. Their average weight was 64.8 (range, 42.3 to 97.4) kg. To assess the integrity of ankle and syndesmosis, we measured, on the AP and lateral radiographs of ankle and ankle mortise, tihiofibular clear space, tibiofibular overlap, medial clear space, width of fibula and the distance between the distal tip of the anterior aspect of the tibia and the point of anterior cortex of the fibula intersecting the articular line (abbreviated as the distance). Correlation of the parameters and coefficients of determination were assessed. Results The tibiofibular clear space (3.98±0.78) mm was the most affected by gender, age, weight and height than the other parameters.The tibiofibular overlap width was (7.06±1.98)mm, the medial clear space width (4.04±0.50) mm, the width of fibula (14.39±1.86) mm and the distance (4.99±4.04) mm. The tibiofibular clear space had a significant correlation with the gender, age, height and weight (R = 0.229, P< 0.01), but the other parameters had no significant correlation. Conclusion In digital X-ray films, the tibiofibular overlap, the medial clear space and the distance between the distal tip of the anterior aspect of the tibia and the point of anterior cortex of the fibula intersecting the articular line can be used for early and ac-curate diagnosis of injuries to the distal tibiofibular syndesmosis. Key words: Ankle joint; Athletic injuries; Radiography; Tibiofibular syndesmosis
Published Version
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