[Sonographic diagnosis of anterior syndesmosis rupture]

In a prospective trial we evaluated the diagnostic value of ultrasound imaging in the diagnosis of injuries to the anterior syndesmosis of the ankle joint. In an initial series of 20 patients using a basic standard ultrasound machine (Siemens Sonoline SL 1 with a 7.5 MHz piece) and a simple dynamic testing protocol as described in this article we found a significant difference between the ultrasound result for the ruptured syndesmosis versus non rupture and a specificity similar to that of arthrography. We conclude that ultrasound imaging is a useful tool in the diagnosis of syndesmotic rupture. Given the statistical significance of these results we feel confident that-despite the small amount of patients of this series and after an individual learning curve-ultrasound will eventually replace arthrography as the standard of investigation for this type of injury.