Baseline Predictors Of Knee Cartilage Magnetic Resonance T1ρ And T2 Relaxation Times 10 Years After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction

Purpose: Patients with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury are at increased risk for the development of post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) despite ACL reconstruction (ACLR). Previous efforts to identify risk factors for post-ACLR PTOA development are inconclusive, with conflicting evidence in the literature. Long-term PTOA evaluation for structural damage has primarily used radiographs. Few long-term studies look at the effect of baseline injury and surgical factors on joint structural damage as measured by quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (qMRI), a method providing more soft tissue detail and higher sensitivity in detecting early degeneration than radiographs. Specifically, high cartilage T1ρ and T2 MR relaxation times may be indicators of cartilage degeneration and PTOA development. We recently reported significantly elevated knee cartilage T1ρ and T2 in patients 10+ years after ACLR compared to controls. This study aims to evaluate the ability of baseline patient injury and surgical factors to predict qMRI measurements of cartilage degeneration in patients 10+ years after ACLR.