European Journal of Molecular & Clinical Medicine

Abstract

Background: There is a debate around the existence, anatomy, and role of the so called
―anterolateral ligament (ALL). This study was conducted with a primary aim of finding out
and comparing the prevalence of the presence of anterolateral ligament and it’s three portions
(femoral, meniscal and tibial) in knees with and without ACL tear.
Methodology: This is a cross sectional study conducted in which A total of 96 patients
undergoing MRI knee for clinically evident ACL injury or history of chronic knee pain were
included in the study. Out of 96 patients included in the study, 48 patients had ACL tear
(Group A) and 48 patients did not have an ACL tear (Group B). Demographic data and
clinical information were noted for all patients. Descriptive variables were expressed as mean
and standard deviation for quantitative variables and frequency and percentages for
qualitative variables. The data was analyzed using SPSS® version 21.0. Categorical variables
were analyzed using Chi square test and for normally distributed data - t test was used. p
value <0.05 was considered as statistically significant.
Results: ALL was visualized in 65% of the patients included in the study. Its femoral
component was visualized in 56%, tibial component in 63% and meniscal component in 57%
of the patients. The three components were viewed together in 30% of the patients. We found
a significant association between ACL tear and the presence of ALL (p <0.001), with ALL
visualized in around 81%of knees with an ACL tear and only 48% of knees without an ACL
tear. Meniscal tears were significantly associated with the presence of ALL as out of the 62
patients in which ALL was visualized, 24 had an associated medial meniscal tear, 7 had
lateral and 3 had tear in both the menisci.
Conclusion: Our study demonstrated radiological evidence of the existence of the ALL.
Furthermore, we found presence of ALL to be significantly associated with ACL injury and
meniscal tear. Age, gender, or affected side was not found to be associated with the presence
of ALL.