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ABSTRACT: Background
Early detection of post-traumatic cartilage damage in the ankle joint in magnetic resonance images can be difficult due to disturbances to structures usually appearing over time.Purpose
To study the articular cartilage of unilateral Weber type-B/SER-type ankle fractures shortly post-trauma using T2 relaxation time.Material and methods
Fifty one fractured ankles were gathered from consecutively screened patients, compiled initially for RCT studies, and treated at Oulu University Hospital and classified as stable (n = 28) and unstable fractures (n = 23) based on external-rotation stress test: medial clear space of ≥5 mm was interpreted as unstable. A control group of healthy young individuals (n = 19) was also gathered. All ankles were imaged on average 9 (range: 1 to 25) days after injury on a 3.0T MRI unit for T2 relaxation time assessment, and the cartilage was divided into sub-regions for comparison.Results
Control group displayed significantly higher T2 values in tibial cartilage compared to stable (six out of nine regions, p-values = .003-.043) and unstable (six out of nine regions, p-values = .001-.037) ankle fractures. No differences were detected in talar cartilage. Also, no differences were observed between stable and unstable fractures in tibial or talar cartilage.Conclusions
Lower T2 relaxation times of tibial cartilage in fractured ankles suggest intact extra cellular matrix (ECM) of the cartilage. Severity of the ankle fracture, measured by ankle stability, does not seem to increase ECM degradation immediately after trauma.
SUBMITTER: Lehtovirta S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC10540593 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Lehtovirta Sami S Casula Victor V Haapea Marianne M Nortunen Simo S Lepojärvi Sannamari S Pakarinen Harri H Nieminen Miika T MT Lammentausta Eveliina E Niinimäki Jaakko J
Acta radiologica open 20230929 9
<h4>Background</h4>Early detection of post-traumatic cartilage damage in the ankle joint in magnetic resonance images can be difficult due to disturbances to structures usually appearing over time.<h4>Purpose</h4>To study the articular cartilage of unilateral Weber type-B/SER-type ankle fractures shortly post-trauma using T2 relaxation time.<h4>Material and methods</h4>Fifty one fractured ankles were gathered from consecutively screened patients, compiled initially for RCT studies, and treated a ...[more]