What is Beyond Chronic Knee Pain? A Comparative Ultrasound and MRI Study to Assess the Contribution of Various Pathological Entities in the Painful Knee Joint
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- Category: Vol. 91, December 2023
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What is Beyond Chronic Knee Pain? A Comparative Ultrasound and MRI Study to Assess the Contribution of Various Pathological Entities in the Painful Knee Joint, ASMAA H. HABIB, ALAA SOBHI, SAFIA B. SAYED and HODA M. ABBAS
Abstract
Background: Chronic knee pain is a common increasing musculoskeletal complaint. As a result, selecting a dependable screening tool at a reasonable cost is essential. Although mag-netic resonance imaging (MRI) is the gold standard imaging modality for knee soft tissue structures, its high cost has led to widespread abuse. Aim of Study: The main aim of this study is to spot ultra-sonography's diagnostic efficacy as a quick imaging method for evaluating painful knee joints in comparison with MRI. Patients and Methods: A prospective study was conducted on 110 patients with clinically confirmed chronic knee pain/ limited mobility. Both ultrasonography and MRI examinations of the knee were done for all study groups. The diagnostic ef-fectiveness of ultrasonography in comparison to MRI was ex-amined for evaluating different findings of possible causes of chronic knee pain. Results: A total of 120 knees were included in the study; Ultrasonography and MRI reported 9 different pathological entities of possible causes of chronic knee pain or related to it. Joint effusion was the most common finding (91.6%) fol-lowed by OA changes (41.6%) and peri-articular baker cyst (25%). The overall sensitivity of ultrasonography was 85.5% and 100% specificity. The ultrasonography provided the highest sensitivity (100%) in detecting effusion,baker cyst, hematoma, torn menisci, Meniscal horn extrusion, vascular anomalies, and hemangioma, followed by periarticular cystic and solid lesions with sensitivities of 86.6% and 88.8% respectively. Conclusion: With the advantages of being widely acces-sible, affordable, and having no contraindications, ultrasound should be the primary imaging modality of choice when eval-uating chronic knee pain. It can be used as an effective and acceptable screening imaging modality. For ambiguous ultra-sound results, MRI can be reserved.