A threshold value of 3.5 mm of passive anterior tibial subluxation on MRI is highly specific for complete ACL tears

Knee Surgery, Sports Traumatology, Arthroscopy volume 27, pages885–892(2019)Cite this article

Abstract

Purpose

To identify and quantify passive anterior tibial subluxation on MRI using a standardized measurement protocol and determine the diagnostic threshold of subluxation for complete anterior cruciate ligament tears.

Methods

A retrospective case–control study was performed. Patients who underwent surgery for a complete isolated ACL tear between 2009 and 2015 were matched for age and gender to controls with an intact ligament on knee MRI. All subjects underwent 1.5 T closed field MR imaging with the same protocol. Measurements were performed on axial sequences to evaluate translation of the medial and lateral condyles compared to the tibial plateau. Each compartment was measured between the vertical tangent to the posterior femoral condyles and the most posterior part of the tibial plateau. The main criterion was global passive subluxation measurements on MRI, corresponding to mean medial and lateral compartment subluxation. The reproducibility and diagnostic value of passive subluxation were calculated.

Results

Sixty (30/30) subjects were included, mean age 27.1 ± 1.7 years, 20 women and 40 men. Patients had a significantly higher global passive subluxation than controls (3.3 ± 0.6 mm vs 0.6 ± 0.2 mm, respectively p < 0.00001). Reproducibility was excellent and the diagnostic value of passive subluxation for a complete ACL tear was fair. A passive subluxation threshold of 3.5 mm had a sensitivity of 55.2%, a specificity of 100% and 77.6% of well-classified subjects.

Conclusion

The calculated cutoff value for global passive subluxation to identify patients with a complete ACL tear was 3.5 mm, with excellent specificity and a high positive likelihood ratio. Suboptimal clinical results following ACL reconstruction could be partially due to failure to restore an anatomical femorotibial relationship.

Level of evidence

III.

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Funding

There was no external funding source for the current study.

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Affiliations

  1. Hôpital Ambroise Paré, Service de Chirurgie Orthopédique et Traumatologie, Hôpitaux Universitaires Paris Ile de France Ouest, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 9, avenue Charles de Gaulle, 92100, Boulogne-Billancourt, France

    Alexandre Hardy, Shahnaz Klouche, Pierre Szarzynski, Etienne Charpentier, Jean Sebastien Beranger, Thomas Bauer, Benoit Rousselin, Olivia Judet & Philippe Hardy

  2. Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, UFR des Sciences de la Santé, 78180, Montigny-le-Bretonneux, France

    Thomas Bauer & Philippe Hardy

Authors
  1. Alexandre Hardy
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  2. Shahnaz Klouche
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  3. Pierre Szarzynski
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  4. Etienne Charpentier
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  5. Jean Sebastien Beranger
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  6. Thomas Bauer
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  7. Benoit Rousselin
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  8. Olivia Judet
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  9. Philippe Hardy
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shahnaz Klouche.

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Conflict of interest

The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.

Ethical approval

Ethical approval was obtained for this study from the Comité de Protection des Personnes Ile-de-France IV (CPP IDF IV), Hôpital Saint-Louis. The database was declared at the National Commission for Data Protection (Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés, CNIL, no. 470235).

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Hardy, A., Klouche, S., Szarzynski, P. et al. A threshold value of 3.5 mm of passive anterior tibial subluxation on MRI is highly specific for complete ACL tears. Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc 27, 885–892 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-018-5159-0

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Keywords

  • Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear
  • Passive anterior tibial subluxation (PATS)
  • MRI