title: Comparison of "catheter" and conventional arthroscopy in the diagnosis of knee derangements.
abstract: The diagnostic efficiency of the Optical Catheter System (OCS), which uses a 1.7-mm arthroscope, was compared with that of conventional arthroscopy in 50 patients with various knee derangements in standard arthroscopic conditions. Correct diagnoses were obtained with the OCS in 98% of anterior cruciate ligament derangements--92%-98% of those involving the medial and lateral meniscus, respectively--and 96% of cartilage disorders. No false-positives were noted for anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus injuries. False-negatives were caused by abundant intraarticular bleeding (no tourniquet was applied) and peripheral meniscus tears and false-positives by synovial superposition resulting in a mistaken diagnosis of patellar chondromalacia. The OCS proved a good diagnostic tool. Its employment, especially in an outpatient setting, should be restricted to a small number of patients and entrusted to expert arthroscopists.
authors.affiliation: Second Orthopaedic Department, University of Milan, San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Denti
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arosio
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Trevisan
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016118:Anterior Cruciate Ligament; D020679:Arthroscopes; D001182:Arthroscopy / Q000379:methods; D002357:Cartilage Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D002358:Cartilage, Articular; D002404:Catheterization; D004867:Equipment Design; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007592:Joint Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis; D007719:Knee Joint; D008297:Male; D008592:Menisci, Tibial; D008875:Middle Aged; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity