Modified anteroposterior and oblique radiographs of the midfoot and their efficiency in demonstrating the tarsometatarsal joints.
OBJECTIVE
To assess whether conventional and modified anteroposterior and oblique radiographs of the midfoot can be used to demonstrate tarsometatarsal (TMT) joints clearly.


METHODS
Conventional anteroposterior and oblique radiographs of the midfoot were taken of 152 volunteers. Modified radiographs of the midfoot were taken of 14 volunteers by tilting the radiographic system tube and placing volunteers' feet on different footboards. Both conventional and modified radiographs were taken of 27 patients with midfoot injuries to demonstrate the injuries to the TMT joints. Two radiologists assessed the radiological demonstration of the TMT joints. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 13.0 for Windows.


RESULTS
Conventional radiographs of the midfoot did not sufficiently clearly demonstrate TMT joints. They could not demonstrate the majority of the TMT joints. The modified anteroposterior radiographs of the midfoot taken with the radiographic system tube tilted 30° towards the calcaneus demonstrated most TMT joints clearly. The modified oblique radiographs taken with the foot placed on a 30° footboard and with the radiographic system tube tilted 20° towards the calcaneus also showed the majority of TMT joints clearly. For the evaluation of midfoot injuries, modified radiographs perform better than conventional radiographs.


CONCLUSIONS
Modified anteroposterior and oblique radiographs, which allow clear detection of the articulation and trabeculae of TMT joints, are valuable alternatives when assessing TMT joints.
Department of Radiology, Third Hospital of Hebei Medical University, PR China.
Zekun
Z
Zhang
Wei
W
Chen
Wenjuan
W
Wu
Guoshan
G
Ren
Xiaolin
X
Zhang
Yingze
Y
Zhang
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D018409:Foot Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D033023:Foot Joints / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography