title: SPECT imaging in the diagnosis of meniscal tears.
abstract: Sixty patients scheduled for arthroscopy of a knee because of suspected meniscal tears had preoperative planar and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) radionuclide scans. A crescentic pattern of uptake on the SPECT transaxial view was used as a criterion for diagnosing a tear of a meniscus. The sensitivity of the investigation was 77%, specificity 74%, negative predictive value (NPV) 65%, positive predictive value (PPV) 83%, and accuracy 76%. Tears of the posterior horn of the cartilage were also associated with intense focal uptake on the transaxial view as well as increased equilibrium activity in the adjacent femoral condyle. When these appearances were included as additional criteria the sensitivity rose to 90%, NPV 81%, and accuracy 84%. This study confirms the usefulness of SPECT imaging in identifying meniscal tears.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic, Guy's Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Grevitt
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Taylor
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Churchill
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Ryan
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fogelman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001182:Arthroscopy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007718:Knee Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008297:Male; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D000070600:Tibial Meniscus Injuries; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon