Diagnostic Value of Early Magnetic Resonance Imaging After Acute Lateral Ankle Injury.

Miller, Jason R; Dunn, Karl W; Ciliberti, Louis J; Eldridge, Stephanie W; Reed, Lauren D · J Foot Ankle Surg · 2017

retrospective_cohort · Level III

Where this comes from

Abstract

We report a retrospective study of 171 consecutive patients with a lateral ankle sprain. All the patients with direct or blunt force trauma were excluded. Within 21 days of injury, 115 (67.25%) patients had undergone magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate for more serious or significant injuries. The average patient age was 44.09 years. Of the 115 patients, 75 (65.23%) had findings noted to be "significant." MRI can serve as a valuable and underused tool in the evaluation of acute lateral ankle injuries. The underuse of MRI might explain the high degree of variability in patients recovering from a lateral ankle sprain.

Medical subject headings

Anatomy