title: [Ultrasonography as a diagnostic method in suspected meniscal lesion of the knee. A prospective single blind study of 52 patients].
abstract: To evaluate the value of ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool in patients with clinical and anamnestic signs of meniscal lesions of the knee, a prospective, blinded study of 52 patients was carried out. A dynamic ultrasound scan of the menisci was performed before the arthroscopy. At arthroscopy, the surgeon did not know the result of the ultrasonography. One patient was excluded. We found agreement between the results of the ultrasound scan and the arthroscopy in 43 patients. There were four false negative and four false positive results. The sensitivity of ultrasonography was 0.86 and the specificity was 0.83. We conclude that it is possible to diagnose meniscal lesions by ultrasonography. The method is, however, extremely dependent on the examiner, and it takes a long learning period to become experienced in the technique of performing the dynamic investigation of the menisci with a high grade of specificity within five to ten minutes.
authors.affiliation: Ortopaedkirurgisk afdeling og billeddiagnostisk afdeling, Randers Centralsygehus.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Petersen
authors.forename: O S
authors.initials: OS
authors.lastname: Rasmussen
mesh_terms: D001182:Arthroscopy; D005188:False Negative Reactions; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006801:Humans; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000601:surgery; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D000070600:Tibial Meniscus Injuries; D014463:Ultrasonography