RESEARCH ARTICLE
Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Diagnosis of Occult Osseous Injuries in Traumatic Knees
Serhat Mutlu*, 1, Harun Mutlu 2, Baran Kömür 1, Olcay Guler 3, Bulent Yucel 1, Atilla Parmaksızoğlu 2
Article Information
Identifiers and Pagination:
Year: 2015Volume: 9
First Page: 84
Last Page: 88
Publisher ID: TOORTHJ-9-84
DOI: 10.2174/1874325001509010084
Article History:
Received Date: 9/12/2014Revision Received Date: 13/2/2015
Acceptance Date: 28/2/2015
Electronic publication date: 31 /3/2015
Collection year: 2015
open-access license: This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.
Abstract
Background :
Occult osseous knee injuries, such as bone bruises, can produce persistent pain and functional loss. Although bone bruises cannot be identified through direct examination or traditional radiographs, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has emerged as an effective diagnostic method. Nevertheless, the natural history of these injuries remains to be fully defined. Therefore, we used MRI to detect and follow bone bruise injuries secondary to knee trauma.
Methods :
We retrospectively reviewed knee MRIs from patients with bone bruising caused by trauma. Occult injuries were initially identified by MRI and subsequently rescanned for follow-up at 3 and 9 months. All patients underwent physical examinations, direct radiological imaging, and MRI.
Results :
Although direct radiographs showed no abnormalities, we used MRI to identify a total of 22 patients (age range: 19–42 years; mean: 28 years) with bone bruising. After 3 months, injuries remained detectable in 68.2% of the subjects, whereas 18.2% displayed bone bruising after 9 months. The majority of Type I lesions resolved spontaneously, whereas 80% of Type II injuries remained following 3 months, and 30% persisted at 9 months. Ligament and meniscal lesions were observed in 63.6% of patients with bone bruising and appeared to hinder recovery.
Conclusion :
Bone bruises generally resolved within 3 to 9 months in subjects with no soft tissue lesions and minor trauma. However, ligament and meniscal lesions were observed in the majority of patients, and these individuals required longer treatment and recuperation. Overall, these findings can contribute to improving the management of occult osseous knee injuries.
