Role of MRI to Determine Impact on Contralateral ACL/Meniscal Damage Secondary to Unilateral Traumatic Knee Injury in Adults

Abstract

Background: Knee injuries are one of the most common sports injuries and may cause chronic functional impairment. During a study in emergency department approximately 50% of injuries are caused by sports activities, with majority of the cases comprising of knee soft tissue injuries. The most common modality to diagnose musculoskeletal injury is magnetic resonance imaging nowadays. Knee injuries are one of the most frequently overlooked injuries and cause long term functional impairment. MRI provides the most effective and comprehensive imaging assessment of the knee joint and adjacent structures. Objective: To determine the significance of Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of contralateral uninjured knee in suspected meniscal/ACL injury of traumatic patients. Study Design: Prospective study. Settings: Radiology Department of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC), Karachi Pakistan. Duration: January 2018 to December 2021. Methods: Patients aged 18 years or older who presented with a unilateral traumatic knee injury requiring medical evaluation and treatment and who underwent MRI evaluations for both the injured knee (ipsilateral) and the contralateral knee (opposite side) as part of their medical assessment were included. After taking informed consent, all patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations of both their affected (ipsilateral) and non-affected (contralateral) knee joints. These MRI findings were subjected to rigorous statistical analysis, which included comparisons between the affected and non-affected knees. Self-made proforma was used for the data collection. Results: According to our inclusion criteria, we identified 45 patients to participate in the study. Amongst these 82% of the patients were male and 17% were females, ratio between the male and female is 4.6:1. Mean age of the participants was found to be 38.64±14.4 years. Upon analysis, 62.2% of the patients had meniscal injury associated with ACL/PCL damage. While MRI findings were compared with contralateral normal side and found meniscal injury in 17(37.8%) cases, followed ACL/PCL injury 7(15.6%) and ACL/PCL injury associated meniscal injury ± effusion 7(15.6%) was (p = 0.004). Conclusion: MRI has proven to be a valuable imaging modality for identifying ligament tears and meniscal injuries of the knee joint in patients suspected of having meniscal/ACL injuries due to trauma. It not only assists in diagnosis but also provides valuable insights into the complexity of knee trauma.