title: Magnetic resonance imaging in radial head fractures: most associated injuries are not clinically relevant.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent studies report that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) shows a high incidence of associated injuries in patients with a radial head fracture. This retrospective study describes the clinical relevance of these injuries.
  
  
  METHODS
  Forty patients with 42 radial head fractures underwent a MRI scan after a mean of 7.0 days after trauma and were reviewed after a mean of 13.3 months.
  
  
  RESULTS
  MRI showed 24 of 42 elbows had a lateral collateral ligament (LCL) lesion, 1 had a medial collateral ligament (MCL) and LCL lesion, 16 had an injury of the capitellum, 1 had a coronoid fracture, and 2 had loose osteochondral fragments. Clinical evaluation after a mean of 13.3 months showed that 3 elbows had clinical MCL or LCL laxity, of which 2 elbows had no ligamentous injuries diagnosed with MRI. One elbow with a loose osteochondral fragment showed infrequent elbow locking. The mean Mayo Elbow Performance Scale was 97.5 (range, 80-100) after a mean of 13.3 months after trauma, with no significant difference between patients with and without associated injuries (P = .8).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most injuries found with MRI in patients with radial head fractures are not symptomatic or of clinical importance in short-term follow-up.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. laurenskaas@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Laurens
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaas
authors.forename: Roger P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: van Riet
authors.forename: Jeroen L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Turkenburg
authors.forename: Jos P A M
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Vroemen
authors.forename: C Niek
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: van Dijk
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eygendaal
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004551:Elbow Joint / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011885:Radius Fractures / Q000175:diagnosis*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D055815:Young Adult; D000092464:Elbow Injuries