Evaluation of Traumatic Knee Joint Injuries Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

Background: MRI is a widely used modality for diagnosing patients with knee complaints, and it has increasingly replaced diagnostic arthroscopy in this regard. The current research aimed to study the assessment of traumatic knee injuries using MRI, to identify any correlations between the type of tissue damage and age, to determine the ligaments most frequently involved, and to compare the frequency of knee injuries in athletes to those in the general population. Methods and Results: This cross-sectional study included 150 patients with a history of knee injuries who were referred for knee MRI. The study was carried out in the radiology departments of two hospitals (King Faisal Hospital and King Abdulaziz Specialist Hospital, Taif, Saudi Arabia). Medical reports were collected from March 2021 to April 2022. The largest number of affected males were in the age group of 20-30 years; the largest number of affected females were in the age groups of 51-60 years and >60 years. Most athletic patients were in the age group of 20-30 years of age. The anterior cruciate ligament (51.9%) and meniscus (43.1%) were the most affected parts of the knee joint in patients of all ages. Joint effusions and cysts were found in 74.4% and 21.6%, respectively, among all age groups. A torn disc was found in 4 cases, only in male patients aged <20 to 40 years. Conclusion: A non-invasive, radiation-free procedure, MRI facilitates accurate “lesion mapping,” which is important in the diagnosis and follow-up of traumatic knee injuries.