Clinical examination vs MRI evaluation for diagnosis of knee injuries

Introduction: Knee is a weight bearing joint which has ligaments and menisci. Its injury is very common which may lead to pain, instability and loss of function. Its diagnosis is usually done clinically which may need confirmation with Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We compared the sensitivity and specificity of clinical examination compared to MRI Material and Methods: 50 patients were enrolled in the study. They were clinically examined and then MRI was done. Results: Comparing the clinical test with MRI we found that Clinical tests were moderately sensitive for ACL tear and poorly sensitive for meniscal injury. It was not sensitive for PCL injury. The clinical tests were highly specific for ACL, PCL and medial meniscus but moderately specific for lateral meniscus. Positive predictive value of clinical tests was high for ACL, moderate for medial meniscus but low for lateral meniscus. Negative predictive value was highest for PCL while moderate for ACL, medial meniscus and lateral meniscus. Conclusion: We conclude that clinical tests are less sensitive compared to MRI but moderate to highly specific tool for knee injury diagnosis. It needs MRI confirmation for proper management of injury.