MR diagnosis of tears of anterior cruciate ligament of the knee: importance of ancillary findings

Abstract

Objective: Detection of tears of the anterior cruciate ligament with MR is usually based on the appearance of the ligament. However, other MR findings may be useful to establish the diagnosis. We assessed the utility of these ancillary MR findings for detecting tears and for differentiating partial from complete tears of the anterior cruciate ligament.

Materials and methods: MR images of 68 patients who had arthroscopic correlation were retrospectively reviewed by two radiologists who did not know the arthroscopic findings. The reviewers noted the presence and location of bone bruises (nonlinear low signal in the bone marrow on T1-weighted images), assessed posterior displacement of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus, and measured the posterior cruciate ligament angle. At arthroscopy, 39 patients had tears of the anterior cruciate ligament (24 complete, 15 partial) and 29 had intact anterior cruciate ligaments.

Results: The presence of bone bruising in the posterolateral tibial plateau had sensitivities of 50% and 46%, with corresponding specificities of 97% and 97% for the two reviewers. Posterior displacement of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus had a sensitivity of 56% for both reviewers, with 100% and 97% specificities. An angle of the posterior cruciate ligament less than 105 degrees had sensitivities of 72% and 74%, with corresponding specificities of 79% and 86%. The prevalence of these findings was similar in patients with partial tears and those with complete tears.

Conclusion: Ancillary MR imaging findings may be helpful for diagnosing tears of the anterior cruciate ligament when diagnosis based on the MR appearance of the ligament is equivocal. Ancillary findings cannot be used to differentiate patients with partial tears from those with complete tears. The presence of bone bruising in the posterior aspect of the tibial plateau and posterior displacement of the posterior horn of the lateral meniscus are highly specific for a torn anterior cruciate ligament; therefore, the presence of either of these findings should be considered strong evidence of a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament.