Title:Meniscal Lesions in Geriatric Population: Prevalence and Association with Knee Osteoarthritis
VOLUME: 12 ISSUE: 1
Author(s):Meltem Özdemir* and Rasime Kavak
Affiliation:Department of Radiology, University of Health Sciences, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Training and Research Hospital, Ankara, Department of Radiology, University of Health Sciences, Diskapi Yildirim Beyazit Training and Research Hospital, Ankara
Keywords:Aged, knee osteoarthritis, meniscus, MRI, geriatric population, radiographs.
Abstract:Objective: This study evaluated the prevalence of different types of meniscal lesions
among elderly patients with knee pain. Moreover, this study assessed the relationship between meniscal
lesions and the presence of radiographic knee osteoarthritis (OA) in the elderly population.
Methods: The radiographs and magnetic resonance images of one knee out of 306 patients with
knee pain aged 65-89 years were reviewed for knee OA and meniscal lesions. The prevalence of
different types of meniscal lesions was calculated, and the relationship between the prevalence of
meniscal lesion types and the presence of radiographic knee OA was analyzed.
Results: Among 306 participants, 274 (89.5%) showed radiographic knee OA. We found one or
more meniscal lesion(s) in 93% of the total subjects, in 94% of all patients with knee OA, and in
84% of all patients without knee OA. The prevalence of surgically target, possible-target, and nontarget
lesions were 24%, 72%, and 69%, respectively. The prevalence of surgically target lesions
was significantly higher in patients with knee OA than in those without it. The most common lesion
observed was meniscal extrusion, followed by the horizontal and complex meniscal tears.
Conclusions: Our results demonstrated that meniscal damage is considerably prevalent among elderly
individuals with knee pain, especially in those with knee OA. The fact that surgically target
and possible-target lesions constitute a substantial proportion of these lesions should be considered
in the clinical approach to these patients.