Diagnostic value of MRI for detection of knee cartilage lesions vs. weight-bearing CT arthrography (WBCTa)

Li S, Roemer FW, Guermazi A, Nevitt MC, Lynch JA, Segal NA (2025)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2025

Journal

Skeletal Radiology Springer Verlag (Germany)

DOI: 10.1007/s00256-025-04956-9

Abstract

Objective: Using WBCT arthrography (WBCTa) as the referent standard, this study evaluated the diagnostic performance of MRI for visualizing cartilage lesions and determined the rates at which WBCTa detects cartilage lesions that were missed or scored as more severe compared to MRI. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional, level II evidence, prospective observational study included 65 participants undergoing MRI for evaluation of suspected cartilage damage. WBCTa images were acquired following MRI. Knee cartilage morphology was semi-quantitatively assessed using the MRI Osteoarthritis Knee Score (MOAKS) on both imaging modalities. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, PPV, and NPV were calculated. The frequencies for cartilage severity detected on WBCT versus MRI in patellar, femoral, and tibial subregions were summarized. Results: MRI visualization of cartilage lesions had a sensitivity ranging from 0–79% for lesions detected on WBCT, specificity of 84–100%, and accuracy of 71–92%. Excluding the posterolateral tibia, cartilage lesion severity was greater on WBCTa than on MRI in all other subregions (3.1-33.8% of knees) where lesions were detected by both modalities. Conclusion: MRI did not visualize a significant proportion of cartilage lesions that were visualized with WBCTa. In all subregions, excluding the posterolateral tibia, cartilage lesion severity was found to be greater on WBCTa than on MRI. Reasons for lower performance of MRI compared to WBCTa are likely multifactorial, potentially relating to scanning configurations, inferior conspicuity of the articular surfaces due to a lack of intraarticular contrast or fluid, and technical reasons such as inferior resolution and type of MRI sequence used.

Involved external institutions

University of Kansas Medical Center US United States (USA) (US) Boston University US United States (USA) (US) University of California San Francisco (UCSF) US United States (USA) (US)

How to cite

APA:

Li, S., Roemer, F.W., Guermazi, A., Nevitt, M.C., Lynch, J.A., & Segal, N.A. (2025). Diagnostic value of MRI for detection of knee cartilage lesions vs. weight-bearing CT arthrography (WBCTa). Skeletal Radiology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00256-025-04956-9

MLA:

Li, Susan, et al. "Diagnostic value of MRI for detection of knee cartilage lesions vs. weight-bearing CT arthrography (WBCTa)." Skeletal Radiology (2025).

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