Association Between MRI Signal Intensity of the Repaired Lateral Meniscus and Residual Anterolateral Knee Laxity...

Anterolateral knee laxity (ALLx) has been linked to tears of the lateral meniscus (LM) and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

To investigate the longitudinal relationship between the signal intensity (SI) of the repaired LM on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and residual ALLx after ACL reconstruction (ACLR).

Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.

Included were 87 patients who underwent double-bundle ACLR and lateral meniscal repair (mean age, 23.5 years; body mass index, 23.7 kg/m²; 56 women) at a single institution between 2010 and 2019. Proton density-weighted (PDW) and T2-weighted (T2W) MRI was performed at 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively, and the SI ratio (SIR) was calculated as (SI of the repaired LM)/(SI of the posterior cruciate ligament). At the 12-month follow-up, ALLx was evaluated using the pivot-shift test; an International Knee Documentation Committee grade ≥1 indicated residual ALLx.

Overall, 12 patients (13.8%) exhibited ALLx at 12 months postoperatively. At 3 months postoperatively, the SIR on PDW images (SIR-PDW) was significantly higher in patients with ALLx versus those without ALLx (1.98 ± 0.77 vs 1.49 ± 0.52, respectively; P = .007); there was no difference in the SIR on T2W images between the groups. SIR-PDW at 3 months postoperatively was correlated negatively with patient age (r = -0.308, P = .004). When patients were stratified into a younger (≤22 years; n = 53; ALLx = 7 [13.2%]) and an older (>22 years; n = 34; ALLx = 5 [14.7%]) group, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) for SIR-PDW in the younger group were statistically significant for predicting the prevalence of ALLx at all follow-up times (AUCs, 0.733-0.788) with optimal cutoff values of 2.00 at 3 months, 1.50 at 6 months, and 1.50 at 12 months. Logistic regression analysis revealed that if younger patients consistently had higher SIR-PDW values than the cutoff values, they were more likely to have residual ALLx (odds ratios, 10.24-23.57).

For younger patients who underwent both ACLR and lateral meniscal repair, higher MRI SI of the repaired LM was associated with a higher prevalence of residual ALLx.