Radiology, Vol 159, 147-151, Copyright © 1986 by Radiological Society of North America
Meniscus tears of the knee: prospective evaluation with CT
LG Manco, JH Kavanaugh, JJ Fay and BS Bilfield
A total of 209 patients underwent prospective axial computed tomography
(CT) examinations of the knee to evaluate the ability of this technique to
identify and characterize knee menisci in patients believed to have
meniscus tears. Of the 359 knees examined, 105 subsequently underwent
arthrography, arthroscopy, or arthrography and arthroscopic surgery. In
this group, the sensitivity of CT was 88.5%, specificity was 95.5%, and
accuracy was 91.5%. Although axial CT is a sensitive and effective method
for the detection and characterization of tears involving the medial and
lateral menisci, purely horizontal or nondisplaced peripheral tears may be
difficult to demonstrate.
