Comparison of Intercondylar Notch Width Index and Reverse Notch Width Index in Cases With and Without Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears

10.5580/2c4f ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Cruciate Ligament ◽  
Cruciate Ligament ◽  
Intercondylar Notch ◽  
Notch Width ◽  
Anterior Cruciate ◽  
Intercondylar Notch Width ◽  
Notch Width Index ◽  
Cruciate Ligament Tears

Intercondylar Notch Width Measurement Differences between African American and White Men and Women with Intact Anterior Cruciate Ligament Knees

2007 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 1304-1307 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Donald Shelbourne ◽  
Tinker Gray ◽  
Rodney W. Benner
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Cruciate Ligament ◽  
African American ◽  
Cruciate Ligament ◽  
White Men ◽  
European American ◽  
Intercondylar Notch ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Notch Width ◽  
Anterior Cruciate ◽  
Intercondylar Notch Width

Background A recent report of professional women's basketball found that white European American female players were 6.5 times more likely to tear their anterior cruciate ligament than their nonwhite European American counterparts. African Americans accounted for 95% of the nonwhite European American group. Hypothesis African American men and women have wider intercondylar notches than white men and women. Study Design Cohort study (prevalence); Level of evidence, 2. Methods We obtained 45° flexed weightbearing posteroanterior radiographs on 517 patients who had knee problems other than an anterior cruciate ligament injury or arthrosis. One experienced observer measured the intercondylar notch width with no knowledge of race or gender, and the measurements were analyzed based on race and gender. Results The mean intercondylar notch width was 15.5 mm (SD = 2.8; range, 9-22) for African American women and 14.1 mm (SD = 2.5; range, 8-21) for white women; this difference was statistically significant (P = .009). Similarly, the mean intercondylar notch width was 18.0 mm (SD = 3.6; range, 10-27) for African American men and 16.9 mm (SD = 3.1; range, 9-27) for white men; these values were statistically significantly different (P = .003). Conclusion We conclude that African Americans have statistically significantly wider intercondylar notch widths on 45° flexed weightbearing posteroanterior radiographs than whites of the same gender. This relationship may offer an explanation for the difference between races with regard to risk of anterior cruciate ligament tears.

The Relationship Between Intercondylar Notch Width of the Femur and the Incidence of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tears

1998 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 402-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Donald Shelbourne ◽  
Thorp J. Davis ◽  
Thomas E. Klootwyk
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Cruciate Ligament ◽  
Cruciate Ligament ◽  
Intercondylar Notch ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Notch Width ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Anterior Cruciate ◽  
Intercondylar Notch Width ◽  
Group 1

For 714 consecutive patients who underwent autogenous patellar tendon graft anterior cruciate ligament reconstructions we intraoperatively measured intercondylar notch width. We prospectively recorded height, weight, sex, and which patients subsequently tore their contralateral anterior cruciate ligament or the 10-mm autograft. The patients were divided into two groups based on notch width (group 1, 15 mm; group 2, 16 mm). The mean notch width was 13.9 2.2 mm for women and 15.9 2.5 mm for men. There was no statistically significant difference in notch width between height groups for women or men. Analysis showed that, with height and weight as covariates, women had statistically significantly narrower notches than men. Twenty-three of 388 patients in group 1 and 4 of 326 patients in group 2 tore their contralateral anterior cruciate ligaments. Within groups, no statistically significant differences in contralateral tear rates existed between men and women. Once the men and women had reconstructions with equally sized 10-mm autografts, there was no difference in graft tear rate between groups or between men and women. Our results show that patients with narrower notches have a higher incidence of tearing their contralateral anterior cruciate ligament. After reconstruction with a 10-mm autograft, the incidence of graft rupture is the same for men and women.

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