The role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in assessment of ACL graft failure

The aim of this work is to assess the role of MRI in the diagnosis of ACL graft failure and detection of complications that may follow ACL reconstruction. Patients and methods: This study included 55 patients (50 male , 5 female) with age ranged from 18 to 60 years with a mean age of 32 y. All patients underwent MRI using sagittal T1WI, T2WI, proton density WI, and axial T2 and coronal STIR images. MRI images were assessed by two radiologists who were blinded to each other. Arthroscopic knee examination was considered as a gold standard of reference. Results: Observer one found that the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy of MRI in the detection of ACL graft failure were 97.8%, 80%, 95.6%, 88.9 and 94.5% respectively. Observer two found that MRI has a sensitivity of 95.6%, specificity of 70%, PPV of 93.5%, NPV of 77.8% and accuracy of 90.9%. Conclusion: MRI is considered as a reliable method for assessment of ACL graft failure and detection of complications following ACL reconstruction