Bone scintigraphy in acetabular labral tears.

BACKGROUND

Acetabular labral tears are an increasingly recognized cause of hip pain in young adults with hip dysplasia and older patients with degenerative disease of the hips.

METHODS

The authors analyzed retrospectively bone scintigraphy in 27 patients with acetabular labral tears diagnosed by MRI/arthroscopy. Analysis was also made of scintigraphy in 30 patients without labral tears being investigated for other causes of hip pain for comparison.

RESULTS

Patients with labral tears had hyperemia of the superior or superomedial aspect of the acetabulum and increased delayed uptake in either a focal superior pattern or in an "eyebrow" pattern of a superomedial tear. This pattern was not seen in any other sources of hip pathology.

CONCLUSION

Uptake in the superior or superomedial aspect of the acetabular rim is characteristic of a labral tear. Absence of this pattern carries a high negative predictive value for the diagnosis.