The evaluatıon of knee MRI fındıngs ın terms of patellar chondromalacia

Yusuf Yarar¹, Bozkurt Gulek², Gokhan Soker², Omer Kaya², Kaan Esen², Mehmet Sirik³, Eda Soker⁴

¹Diyarbakir  Teaching and Research Hospital Department of Radiology, Diyarbakir, Turkey

²Adana Numune Teaching and Research Hospital Department of Radiology, Adana, Turkey

³Adiyaman University Department of Radiology, Adiyaman, Turkey

⁴Adana Numune Teaching and Research Hospital Department of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Adana, Turkey

*Corresponding Author E-mail: bozkurtgulek@yahoo.com; Phone: +90-533-435-4686

Accepted 28 November, 2013

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to define the incidental frequency of patellar chondromalacia in patients who had not been previously diagnosed with this pathological entity, and also to identify the pathological conditions of the knee which may bear the potential to give way to the development of patellar chondromalacia. 280 patients, of whom 117 were males and 163 females, undertook MRI examinations of their knees at the Numune Teaching and Research Hospital, Adana, Turkey. MRI examinations were performed by the utilization of a 0.2 T low-field open scanner. The incidence of chondromalacia in the study group was found to be 1.8 %. In addition to this finding,  certain pathological entities were found to bear etiological potentials for the development of chondromalacia. It is concluded that even though the interpreter factor is important in the evaluation of MRI examinations of the knee in terms of chondromalacia,  the images obtained from the 0.2 T open scanner were good enough to demonstrate the morphologic changes of both patellar chondromalacia and other entities which may lead to this condition.

Keywords: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Patellar chondromalacia, knee