Rationale and objectives: The aim of this study was to compare high-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) arthrography and multislice computed tomographic (MSCT) arthrography in the evaluation of the entire knee cartilage obtained from cadavers.
Materials and methods: MR arthrography and MSCT arthrography were performed on 16 cadaver knees, and their findings were compared to those found during macroscopic assessment. The sensitivity and specificity of MR arthrography and MSCT arthrography for detecting cartilage lesions of grade > or = 2 and Spearman's correlation coefficients between arthrographic and macroscopic grades were determined. In addition, cartilage surface conspicuity of the two techniques was measured using a subjective ranking system.
Results: The sensitivity and specificity, respectively, for the detection of cartilage disorder (grade > or = 2) were 87% and 97% on MR arthrography and 84% and 99% on MSCT arthrography. There was no statistically significant difference between the two techniques in sensitivity (P = 1.000) or specificity (P = .625). Spearman's correlation coefficients between MR arthrography or MSCT arthrography and macroscopic grading were 0.783 and 0.800, respectively, with no statistically difference (P = .492). Both MR arthrography and MSCT arthrography enabled the accurate depiction of cartilage surface.
Conclusions: High-resolution MR arthrography and MSCT arthrography were comparably accurate for the assessment of cartilage lesions of the entire knee.