Introduction
The aim of this literature review is to gain an insight into either Ultrasound (US) or Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the more suitable imaging modality into diagnosing and assessing a tear within the knee Menisci. Both within trauma and non-trauma adult patients.
This section of the review will explain the topic and reasoning into why it was done. The process of its relevance into radiography in practise will also be outlined. This will provide background into positive aspects it could bring.
The project targets and hypothesis will be demonstrated within this section.
Background into the Menisus of the knee
Within anatomy the Meniscus is a piece of cartilage located within the joints of the wrist, acromioclavicular,
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Blood supply and age factors
“At the time of birth, nearly the whole meniscus is vascularised” (Institute of anatomy 1995, Vol. 66, No. 4, Pages 308-312).
The menisci of the knee gains its blood supply from blood vessels entering from the joint capsule accompanied by loose connective tissue.
Within the second year of life this is reduced to a avascular region located within the inner fringe of the joint capsule. At the age of twelve the blood vessels are reduced again, being confined to the lateral third. (Institute of anatomy 1995, Vol. 66, No. 4, Pages 308-312).
Finally after the age of fifty, only the lateral quarter of the meniscal base is vascularized (Institute of anatomy 1995, Vol. 66, No. 4, Pages 308-312). This creates problems in older patients with meniscus tear injuries, making it vital for having the best imaging modality in place to gain an early diagnosis which would lead to a faster treatment.
Diagnostic Imaging role
The severity of a tear with the knee Menisci can easily be identified through the use of diagnostic imaging.
Modalities used are commonly; conventional radiography, ultrasound (US), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and arthroscopy.
Ultrasound and MRI are the most appropriate imaging modalities for meniscus tears, this is due to their high sensitivity or image quality and statistics.
Ultrasound
Ultrasound uses an oscillating sound pressure
Figure (14): Anteromedial view of the left knee, showing the injury grading scale established by the American Medical Association Standard Nomenclature of Athletic Injuries. Isolated grade-I injuries present with localized tenderness and no laxity. Isolated grade-II injuries present with a broader area of tenderness and partially torn medial collateral and posterior oblique fibers. Isolated grade-III injuries present with complete disruption, and there is laxity with an applied valgus stress. ( 70 )
examined the notch area and probed the anterior cruciate ligament. It was intact. We then examined the lateral compartment and probed the lateral meniscus. It was intact. We examined the medial compartment once again finally, looking for any remaining loose fragments. We then drained the knee and removed the hardware. The skin incisions were left open, and sterile dressings were applied under a
An MRI is short for magnetic resonance imaging and it uses a magnetic field and radio waves to create very detailed images of the tissues within the body. “Conventional MRI has demonstrated inconsistent diagnostic performance in detecting SLL, LTL, and TFCC tears. The low sensitivity for SLL (40–75 %) and LTL (50–75 %) tears is largely due to their small structure. The accuracy of MR imaging for TFCC tears is higher, at about 71–100 %.” (10) Although they would like to have less invasive techniques like the MRI, they need to get more accurate results like they do from the arthroscopy, before they rely on the MRI only. With such a small area that they want an image of for the TFCC injury, they must really refine the sections of images that they make so they can get a clearer picture. As for using a radiograph as another form of diagnosis, they are not useful in a TFCC injury and they will only help determine if there is osteoarthritis. This is usually a go to for any other injury to see if any big damage has happened, however, it will not be helpful in this
Abby describes when athletes typically tear their ACL they are rolling around screaming, unable to walk off. This was not the case for her, however something was wrong so she went to an orthopedic doctor. Due to her stability the doctor did not order an MRI and assumed it was a strained PCL.
Children with tears in their ACL can be treated nonsurgically. Children can heal easily due to vascularization, or the formation of blood vessels, which plays a role in the healing process of the body. “An explanation for the discrepancy may be that minor lateral meniscus tears heal in children, which several authors have suggested is possible because of significant vascularization,” (Moksnes 2013). In a study of 41 children, 28 children underwent conservative non-surgical
The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the diagnostic value of MRI in diagnosing the presence or absence of the most common injuries of the knee; the meniscus tears, the cruciate ligament
In an article online I found some interesting facts about athlete knee injuries. Most meniscal tears are cause because of twisting or force trauma to the knee. The article writes,” the downside to the excision therapy is that in most cases, arthritis develops in the knee many years after surgery”. This can cause a great deal of problems to anyone with this
As a common procedure, arthroscopic meniscectomy is used to treat patients who have suffered from a meniscal tear. By doing so, the removal of torn meniscal fragments and trimming the meniscus back to a stable rim is completed in attempt to relieve pain and further knee complications (Sihvonen et al., 2013). In this case, it was tested if this procedure is in fact effective and beneficial in treating this specific injury.
The request for the examination was from a GP, who was querying if their patient had any degenerative changes to the medial compartment of their right knee, as the patient was 38 years old; this was relatively young to be investigating degenerative disease. The patient had been suffering from chronic pain in their right knee when exercising, i.e. playing football and walking up stairs, and they had an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repair and meniscal surgery, on the same knee, 18 years prior. The mechanism of injury could have caused intra-articular pathogenic processes at the time it occurred, and combined with long-term changes could develop into osteoarthritis (OA) (Lohmander et al. (2007) p. 3). Lohmander et al. (2007 p.3) also says “Injuries to the ACL and menisci frequently occur… There is ample evidence that on long-term follow-up
The patient lies supine with the leg to be tested, beside the examiner. The examiner holds the patient’s knee between full extension and 30 degrees of flexion. The patient’s femur is stabilised with one of the examiner’s hands while the proximal aspect of the tibia is moved posterioranteriorly (forward) with the other hand. (Magee, 2008 p. 768) There are also a number of commonly used modifications to the above technique. The examiner should select the method which they find most effective. These include;
One of the most common injuries that can occur in a person’s life is an injury to the meniscus. The meniscus is a vital part of cartilage located between the bones of the knee. It helps with stability, mobility and also cushions the knee. There are several menisci within the knee and this along with the variety of motions and impacts that can occur to one’s knee are what cause the likelihood of injury to increase dramatically. The various types of tears require different kinds of rehabilitation. Some of these tears may require surgery. By understanding the injury and different types of treatment options, an injured person will have a better chance at a full recovery.
Most ligament injuries can be diagnosed clinically by physical examination, and by comparing the structures of the injured and non-injured knee. This includes examination of swelling, bruising, areas of tenderness, deformity and effusion (knee joint fluid). The strength and stability of the ACL can be tested by the Lachman test, anterior drawer test and pivot-shift test. However, this can be very difficult in acute situations where there is lots of pain,
Introduction seemed contradictory; as seventy five per cent accuracy of diagnosis can be made on history alone (Daniel, 1982; DeHaven, 1975) followed by specific clinical tests with above average accuracy. Very brief essentially, non-existent literature review. Besides mention of the population susceptible to meniscal injury, other relevant information pertaining to the injury wasn’t briefed. Such as, the mechanism of injury as well as the classic signs and symptoms experienced by an individual after meniscal pathology. Neither the introduction nor the brief literature review goes over what exactly sensitivity and specificity imply in the results. Sensitivity being how good the test is at detecting meniscal tears and specificity being how good the test is at identifying normal knee (Mohan, 2007). Also, there is no mention of what constitutes a false-positive and a false-negative result encountered during
The news actually came as a little bit of a relief because a meniscus tear was the quickest recovery time. Then the doctor started talking about what he could do to fix it. There were two options, trim the torn part out or repair it. He said based on the MRI, it looked repairable but would not know for sure until I was in surgery.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging is a powerful diagnostic tool in the medical imaging market place as the procedure of choice for the visualization of soft tissue. The MRI industry is producing over 2,000 units per year. The United States is represented with 40% of the world marketing and production of MRI. There is an emerging consensus that the MRI has a broad application in smaller hospital and clinics.