The significance of conventional radiographic parameters in the diagnosis of scapholunate ligament lesions

Objective Although in widespread clinical use, evidence of the diagnostic accuracy of radiographic parameters for the diagnosis of scapholunate ligament injuries is scarce. The objective of this study was to evaluate the scapholunate (SL) angle, radiolunate (RL) angle and SL gap as diagnostic parame...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:European radiology 2011-01, Vol.21 (1), p.176-181
Main Authors: Megerle, Kai, Pöhlmann, S., Kloeters, O., Germann, G., Sauerbier, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accuracy
Adolescent
Adult
Aged
Arthritis
Child
Diagnostic Radiology
Female
Humans
Imaging
Internal Medicine
Interventional Radiology
Joint and ligament injuries
Ligaments, Articular - diagnostic imaging
Male
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Middle Aged
Musculoskeletal
Neuroradiology
Pain
Predictive Value of Tests
Radiography
Radiology
Retrospective Studies
Surgery
Trauma
Ultrasound
Wrist
Wrist Injuries - diagnosis
Wrist Joint - diagnostic imaging
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective Although in widespread clinical use, evidence of the diagnostic accuracy of radiographic parameters for the diagnosis of scapholunate ligament injuries is scarce. The objective of this study was to evaluate the scapholunate (SL) angle, radiolunate (RL) angle and SL gap as diagnostic parameters for these lesions. Methods Eight hundred forty nine patients, who underwent wrist arthroscopy at our institution because of wrist pain were included in a retrospective analysis. In all patients the SL angle, RL angle and SL gap were measured on preoperative radiographs. These parameters were correlated with the actual finding of the SL ligament during arthroscopy. Optimal test thresholds were calculated as well as sensitivity, specificity and the likelihood ratios of each parameter. Results All three parameters proved useful in statistical analysis. The optimal cut-off points for diagnosing lesions of the SL ligament were calculated as 62.5° for the SL angle, 12.5° for the RL angle and 2.5 mm for the SL gap. SL angles had the greatest specificity (0.93). Conclusions We were able to validate plain radiographs as a reliable tool in the work-up of patients with suspected SL ligament injuries. However, wrist arthroscopy remains the gold standard in diagnosing and treating these lesions.
ISSN:0938-7994
1432-1084
DOI:10.1007/s00330-010-1910-8