The Sensitivity and Specificity of Thessaly Test for the Diagnosis of Meniscus Injuries in Patients with Symptoms of Chronic Internal Derangements of the Knee

The original study of the Thessaly test showed high diagnostic accuracy for early detection of meniscus tears. However, in a patient with chronic knee symptoms and multiple knee pathologies, the accuracy of this test remains unclear. We reviewed the data of 97 patients with chronic knee symptoms treated by arthroscopic surgery, comparing the Thessaly test results with arthroscopic findings and assessed its sensitivity and specificity for meniscus tears. The Thessaly test at 20 degrees of knee flexion, the McMurray test and joint line tenderness showed a positive correlation with meniscus tears. The Thessaly test showed 53.3 % sensitivity and 81.1 % specificity for lateral meniscus tears, 51.3 % sensitivity and 86.2 % specificity for medial meniscus tears. We conclude that in patients with multiple knee pathologies, the Thessaly test showed a lower diagnostic accuracy and did not accurately diagnose meniscal tears.