Diagnosis of acute rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee by sonography.

The accuracy of sonography in the diagnosis of acute rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) was tested. Sixty-two patients with a recent traumatic haemarthrosis were examined. A haematoma at the origin of the ACL in the femoral intercondylar notch was interpreted as evidence of ligament injury. The standard of reference was arthroscopy or clinical follow-up. The sonographic findings were confirmed in 59 of 62 cases. The sensitivity was 88%, the specificity 98%, and the positive and negative predictive values 93 and 96%.