What question did this study set out to answer?

Assess the diagnostic accuracy and reliability of clinical physical examinations performed by fellowship-trained sports medicine orthopaedic surgeons for detecting posterior cruciate ligament injuries.

July 1, 1994The American Journal of Sports Medicine

The Accuracy of the Clinical Examination in the Setting of Posterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries

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Authors

RRRichard A. RubinsteinOregon Health & Science University KSK. Donald ShelbourneWright State University JMJohn R. McCarrollMatrix Research (United States)

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Implication

Randomized trial demonstrates 96% diagnostic accuracy of clinical examination for posterior cruciate ligament tears, indicating physical tests reliably detect chronic ligament laxity.

Key Points

Assess the diagnostic accuracy and reliability of clinical physical examinations performed by fellowship-trained sports medicine orthopaedic surgeons for detecting posterior cruciate ligament injuries.
Blinded, randomized, controlled study of N=39 subjects, evaluating 18 patients with 19 chronic isolated PCL tears alongside 21 controls (9 ACL-deficient knees, 12 normal knees, and contralateral normal knees).
Examiners were blinded to patient history, identity, and clinical diagnosis to minimize evaluation bias.
Overall clinical examination accuracy for detecting PCL tears was 96%, with 90% sensitivity and 99% specificity.
Examiners achieved 81% agreement on the laxity grade of PCL tears, with higher diagnostic accuracy observed for grade II and III laxity than grade I.
The posterior drawer test incorporating palpation of the tibia-femur step-off was identified as the most sensitive and specific clinical test.

Cite This Study

Rubinstein et al. (1994) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a951a4fdef62415d69e660f https://doi.org/10.1177/036354659402200419

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Implication

Randomized trial demonstrates 96% diagnostic accuracy of clinical examination for posterior cruciate ligament tears, indicating physical tests reliably detect chronic ligament laxity.

The Accuracy of the Clinical Examination in the Setting of Posterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

The Accuracy of the Clinical Examination in the Setting of Posterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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