[Arthrograph and operative findings (author's transl)]

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Diagnostic Imaging

Background:

• Arthrography is a common diagnostic tool for joint abnormalities.
• Evaluating the accuracy of arthrography compared to operative findings is crucial for clinical decision-making.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the diagnostic accuracy of arthrography with operative findings for knee, shoulder, and hip joints.
• To assess the retrospective and prospective performance of arthrography in identifying disk lesions.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 57 patients undergoing arthrography and subsequent surgery.
• Comparison of arthrographic findings with operative results for medial and lateral disk lesions in the knee.
• Evaluation of arthrographic accuracy for shoulder and hip joints.
• Prospective assessment of arthrographic accuracy.

Main Results:

• Retrospective analysis revealed diagnostic differences in 19% for medial knee disk lesions (13.5% false positive, 5.5% false negative) and 13% for lateral lesions (5.5% false positive, 7.5% false negative).
• No significant differences were observed between arthrography and operative findings for shoulder and hip joints in the retrospective series.
• Prospective evaluation demonstrated significantly improved accuracy for knee joint disk lesions.

Conclusions:

• Arthrography has limitations in accurately diagnosing knee joint disk lesions, particularly medial ones, when assessed retrospectively.
• Prospective evaluation enhances the diagnostic reliability of arthrography for knee joint disk lesions.
• Arthrography appears reliable for evaluating shoulder and hip joints.