Bony and soft-tissue impingement syndromes are now increasingly being recognized as significant causes of chronic ankle pain.

Objective

To compare the diagnostic efficacy of MR arthrography with conventional MRI in evaluation of ankle impingement in correlation with clinical and arthroscopic findings.

Patients and methods

This study reviewed 23 patients who had preoperative MR imaging and MR arthrography and then underwent arthroscopy (as a gold standard), in the period from May 2019 till August 2021. The study is approved by the ethical committee of Faculty of Medicine of Assiut University.

Results

Conventional MRI and MR arthrography showed sensitivity, specificity, and an accuracy of 100.0% in diagnosing bony impingement. For diagnosing soft tissue impingement; MR arthrography was shown to be more superior to conventional MRI with a sensitivity of 88.2%, a specificity of 100.0%, and an accuracy of 94.4%.

Conclusion

MR arthrography is highly beneficial in diagnosing bony and soft impingement that expands the functionality of conventional MR imaging by taking advantage of the natural benefits of joint effusion.