Prone and supine views in double-contrast knee arthrography

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Orthopedic Imaging
• Diagnostic Imaging

Background:

• Standard double-contrast (DC) knee arthrography is a common diagnostic tool.
• Certain meniscal tears may be missed with standard prone positioning alone.
• Image quality can be suboptimal with joint effusions or inadequate contrast coating.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the diagnostic utility of adding supine views to DC knee arthrograms.
• To determine if supine views can identify meniscal tears not visualized with prone views.
• To assess the benefit of supine views in equivocal cases and suboptimal contrast scenarios.

Main Methods:

• Prospective study involving 137 patients undergoing DC knee arthrogram.
• Standard prone DC arthrogram was supplemented with supine views.
• Analysis focused on meniscal tear detection and image quality enhancement.

Main Results:

• A total of 30 meniscal tears were diagnosed in the study cohort.
• Two meniscal tears were identified exclusively on the supine views.
• Supine views aided in cases with residual joint effusion and inadequate contrast coating.

Conclusions:

• Incorporating supine views into DC knee arthrography enhances diagnostic accuracy for meniscal tears.
• This technique is particularly beneficial for subtle tears, equivocal findings, and challenging imaging conditions.
• The addition of supine views represents a valuable adjunct to standard DC knee arthrography.