AJR: 1.5T, 3T MRI deliver similar meniscal tear accuracy

There is comparable accuracy in 3T and 1.5T MRI systems in the diagnosis of meniscal tear, according to the August issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Jeffrey W. Grossman, MD, from the department of radiology at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wis., and colleagues sought to compare the accuracy of 3T MRI with that of 1.5T MRI in the diagnosis of meniscal tear and to analyze the causes of diagnostic error.

The researchers reviewed the medical records and original MRI interpretations of 100 consecutive patients who underwent 3T MRI of the knee and of 100 consecutive patients who underwent 1.5T MRI of the knee to determine the accuracy of diagnoses of meniscal tear.

At arthroscopy, the investigators identified 109 medial and 77 lateral meniscal tears in the 200 patients. With two abnormal MR images indicating a meniscal tear, the sensitivity and specificity for medial tear were 92.7 percent and 82.2 percent at 1.5T MRI and 92.6 percent and 76.1 percent at 3T MRI. The sensitivity and specificity for lateral tears were 68.4 percent and 95.2 percent at 1.5T MRI and 69.2 percent and 91.8 percent at 3T MRI.

Of the false-positive diagnoses of medial meniscal tear, Grossman and colleagues found that five of eight at 1.5T and seven of 11 at 3T were apparent peripheral longitudinal tears of the posterior horn. The authors wrote that 15 of the 26 missed medial and lateral meniscal tears were not seen in retrospect, even with knowledge of the tear type and location.

The researchers found that the causes of false-positive and false-negative MRI diagnoses of meniscal tear are similar for 3T and 1.5T MRI.

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