title: There is no relation between mild malalignment and meniscal extrusion in trauma emergency patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate whether an alteration of the lower limb axis is associated with meniscal extrusion.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-four patients who had complained of knee pain with good knee function and had a knee magnetic resonance image (MRI) and a full-length X-ray taken of the lower limb were included in the study. Meniscal extrusion was measured in the coronal MRI. Subluxation of the meniscus was considered minor or physiological if ≤ 3 mm, and major if >3 mm. The extrusion as a percentage of meniscus size was also calculated. Knee alignment (varus, negative value; valgus, positive value) was correlated with the presence of minor and major extrusion.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were varus knees in 61 cases (58.7%), with a mean measured deviation of -2.63°. Valgus knees were observed in 27 knees (26%) and had a mean deviation of 2.22°. The medial meniscus showed major extrusion in 18 cases (17.3%). It corresponded to 44.7% of the meniscus size. The lateral menisci showed no subluxation in most cases. There was no correlation between alignment and meniscal extrusion in this series, either for the medial meniscus (p = 0.760) or for the lateral meniscus (p = 0.381).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In patients complaining of knee pain with good knee function, there is no relationship between mild malalignment and the degree of meniscus extrusion.
authors.affiliation: ICATME-Institut Universitari Dexeus, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Juan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Erquicia
authors.forename: Pablo Eduardo
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Gelber
authors.forename: Jesús Ignacio
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Cardona-Muñoz
authors.forename: Xavier
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Pelfort
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tey
authors.forename: Joan Carles
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Monllau
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D017760:Bone Malalignment / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D004635:Emergency Medicine; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008592:Menisci, Tibial / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D059352:Musculoskeletal Pain / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D011859:Radiography; D012307:Risk Factors; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D000070600:Tibial Meniscus Injuries