Reevaluating Patellar Height Indices in Pediatric Patellofemoral Instability: Comparative Accuracy of Caton Deschamps Index, Patellotrochlear Index, and Sagittal Patellar Engagement.

Key Points

• The aim is to evaluate the accuracy of different patellar height indices in identifying patella alta in children with patellofemoral instability.
• Comparative analysis of Caton Deschamps Index (CDI), Patellotrochlear Index (PTI), and Sagittal Patellar Engagement (SPE).
• MRI assessments to classify patellar height and engagement.
• Assessment of discriminative ability of each index for patella alta.
• CDI showed superior discriminative ability for detecting patella alta compared to PTI and SPE.
• MRI often indicated preserved patellofemoral engagement, even with CDI-defined patella alta.
• The indices demonstrated complementary roles in evaluation.