Role of MRI in detecting cruciate ligaments tears, confirmed subsequently with arthroscopy

Introduction: Due to its anatomical structure, its exposure to external forces and the functional demands placed on it, Knee Joint is one of the most commonly injured joints. Objective: To observe the sensitivity and specificity of MRI in detecting cruciate ligaments tears, and confirmed with arthroscopy. Materials and Method: It was conducted at Ramkrishna Care Hospital, Raipur. 67 patients with complaints of knee pain with history of knee injury between the age group of 15-60 years were selected for study. Results: 61 had ACL tear on MRI out of which 58 showed similar results on arthroscopy. The sensitivity, specificity and accuracy for MRI for ACL came out to be 100%, 66.67% and 95.52% respectively. Similarly out of 2 patients diagnosed with PCL tear on MRI examination only 1 had positive result arthroscopically giving sensitivity of 50%, specificity of 90% and accuracy of 98.5%. Conclusion: Magnetic Resonance Imaging has highly accurate for pre-operative diagnosis of ligamentous injuries of knee joint and can be used as a screening tool before arthroscopic examination