title: Ultrasonographic findings in a large series of patients with knee pain.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSKUS) is becoming more and more popular in the evaluation of different musculoskeletal abnormalities. The aim of this retrospective study was to document the prevalence and spectrum of MSKUS findings at the painful knee.
  
  
  METHODS
  All the studies of MSKUS that were performed for the evaluation of knee pain during the previous 2 years at the Department of Radiology in Nazareth hospital were reviewed. Demographic and clinical parameters including age, gender, side, and MSKUS findings were documented.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred and seventy-six patients were included in the review. In 21 of them, both knees were evaluated at the same setting (total number of knees evaluated was 297). One hundred and forty-four knees were of the left side. Thirty-three pathologies were identified. 34% of the studies were negative. The most common MSKUS findings were medial meniscal tear (MMT) (20%), Baker's cyst (BC) (16%), and osteoarthritis (OA) (11%). Only one knee of all the knees evaluated in our study showed synovitis. Fifty-three knees (18% of all the knees evaluated) had more than one imaging finding, mosty two and while some had three findings. The most common combination of findings was MMT and BC (8 knees), MMT with OA (8 knees), and MMT with fluid (6 knee). In 67% of the patients who had simultaneous bilateral knee evaluation, at least one knee had no abnormal findings and in 43%, both knees were negative.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  MSKUS has the potential for revealing huge spectrum of abnormalities. In nearly 90% of the positive studies, degenerative/mechanical abnormalities were reported, with MMT, BC, and osteoarthritic changes being the most common.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Nazareth Hospital, Bar Ilan University, Nazareth, Zfat, Israel.
authors.forename: Suheil
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Artul
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, Carmel Medical Center, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: Fadi
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Khazin
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedics, EMMS Hospital, Nazareth, Zfat, Israel.
authors.forename: Jeries
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hakim
authors.affiliation: Rheumatology Clinic, Nazareth Hospital and Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Carmel Medical Center, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel.
authors.forename: George
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Habib
keywords: Abnormal findings; knee; pathology; ultrasound