To trust or not to trust an MRI

MRI images can be hard to interpret, especially the meaning of different findings. The image is CC by Becky Stern

In my daily clinical work I’m often confronted with long descriptions of MRI exams by radiologists, and frequently my final conclusion is: nothing out of the ordinary. It is therefore nice to see articles from Felson’s team, where they try to shed some light onto the issue.

Englund et al showed previously that an ostearthritic knee early on has degenerative meniscal changes, and the MRI-findings of these often cause distress among both GP:s and patients. Guermanzi et al’s study goes even further, and examines knees without osteoarthritis (Kjellgren-Lawrence 0) to see what an MRI can say about a painful knee in patients above 50 years of age.

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