Comparative Effectiveness of MRI and CT Scanning Technologies in Diagnosing Knee Joint Trauma and Their Impact on Detection Rates in Athletes: A Sports Science Evaluation

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to evaluate and compare the diagnostic efficacy and detection rates of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT) in assessing knee joint trauma, specifically within an athletic opulation. Methods: A total of 120 athletes with suspected knee joint trauma, admitted to our hospital from January 2019 to December 2021, underwent X-ray, CT, and MRI. The results from these imaging modalities were compared against a clinical comprehensive diagnosis, considered the gold standard. This study analyzed the concordance and coincidence rates of X-ray, CT, and MRI with the clinical comprehensive diagnosis across different types of knee injuries. Results: Utilizing the clinical comprehensive diagnosis as the benchmark, MRI demonstrated significantly higher sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value in diagnosing knee joint trauma compared to both X-ray and CT (P<0.05). CT outperformed X-ray in all assessed metrics (P<0.05). MRI showed superior coincidence rates in identifying injuries to the anterior and posterior cruciate ligaments and the meniscus compared to X-ray and CT (P<0.05). However, no significant differences were noted among MRI, CT, and X-ray in diagnosing distal femoral and proximal tibial fractures (P>0.05). Conclusion: MRI proves to be the most effective imaging modality for diagnosing knee trauma in athletes, surpassing both X-ray and CT in accuracy and detailed injury detection. This superiority makes it particularly valuable in sports medicine for precisely diagnosing and differentiating types of knee injuries, facilitating targeted treatment strategies and potentially reducing recovery time.