Evaluation of Correlation between Clinical and Magnetic Resonance Findings of Patellar Chondromalacia
Correspondence (Iletisim) Deniz Ozel, M.D. Okmeydani Egitim ve Arastirma Hastanesi, Saglik Bilimleri Universitesi, Radyoloji Bolumu, Istanbul, Turkey Phone (Telefon) +90 533 027 49 08 E mail (E posta) denizozel34@hotmail.com Submitted Date (Basvuru Tarihi) 05.02.2020 Accepted Date (Kabul Tarihi) 22.04.2020 Copyright 2020 Haydarpasa Numune Medical Journal OPEN ACCESS This is an open access article under the CC BY NC license (http:/creativecommons.org/licenses/by nc/4.0/ 222 Ozel et al. Evaluation of Correlation between Clinical and Magnetic Resonance Findings of Patellar Chondromalacia doi: 10.14744/hnhj.2020.82504 muscular atrophy and limited flexion of the knee. This test asks about the duration of complaints. The highest possible score is one hundred and lower ratings indicate greater pain/disability [3, 4] For confusing cases, additional knee MRI is performed to confirm the diagnosis. According to the literature, the two main methods of patellar chondromalacia can be identified with conventional knee MRI. The first method is defining and grading the patellar cartilage signal intensity and the second method is measuring the mean thickness of the cartilaginous tissue. This study aimed to evaluate the correlation between clinical appearance and MRI features of chondromalacia and to define a novel MRI indicator to diagnose patellar chondromalacia. After a search of the literature, we discovered that many articles are drawing the usefulness of new MRI techniques and their correlations with arthroscopy. However, there are few articles about the correlation between clinical appearance and commonly used MRI features, so we hoped to contribute to the existing knowledge [5, 6] Materials and Methods We prospectively reviewed the clinical scores of the patients who underwent the knee MRI and diagnosed to be chondromalacia based on clinical scores. The knee MRI images Chondromalacia staging was performed by the same radiologist with a 4 year experience. This study was performed in our institute between May 2017 and February 2019. If the knee pain was suggestive for the presence of chondromalacia clinically, then VAS and Kujala AKPS were noted. Corresponding MR features were evaluated. If any individual had additional knee disturbance/s, those could be a reason for the knee pain, such as meniscal or ligament injuries, inflammatory processes or masses; they excluded from this study to objectively determine the source of the pain disturbance. Another reason for exclusion was the presence of motion artifacts that prevent optimal cartilage evaluation. The patients with pediatric age were also excluded from this study because of ongoing maturation, so the patellar cartilage thickness and the signal intensity could be confusing.