The Relationship Between Tibial Tubercle-Trochlear Groove Distance and Noncontact Anterior Cruciate XXXX in Adolescents and Young Adults.

@entity1 @entity1347 @entity130 @entity2587
PURPOSE: To determine differences in tibial tubercle-trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance between @entity1 with a history of noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and an uninjured control group. METHODS: MRI studies of 60 @entity1 (age range, 14 to 25 years) with @entity1347 ( @entity1347 ) knees were compared with 60 intact-ACL controls. All @entity1 underwent MRI after a noncontact @entity2587 . TT-TG distances were measured on proton density-weighted axial images. Independent t-tests were used to determine differences in TT-TG distance between the @entity1347 and control groups. RESULTS: The mean TT-TG distance in the @entity1347 group was 12.07 mm (95% confidence interval [CI], 11.11 to  13.02), compared with 10.44 mm (95% CI, 9.64 to 11.24) in the control group. The mean TT-TG distance in the male @entity1347 group was 12.95 mm (95% CI, 11.39 to 14.51), compared with 10.87 mm (95% CI, 9.52 to 12.21) in the male control group. The mean TT-TG distance in the female @entity1347 group was 11.48 mm (95% CI, 10.24 to 12.71), compared with 10.04 mm (95% CI, 9.06 to 11.02) in the female control group. There were statistically significant differences in TT-TG distance between the @entity1347 and control groups (P  = .011) and between the male @entity1347 and control groups (P  =  .041). CONCLUSIONS: In adolescents and young adults, the TT-TG distance was statistically larger in knees with noncontact ACL tears than in intact-ACL control knees. When the groups were stratified on the basis of sex, only the male @entity1 showed a statistical difference, with a 2.08 mm increase in TT-TG distance between the @entity1347 and intact-ACL @entity1 . No difference in TT-TG distance was found between the @entity1347 and control groups for female @entity1 . Despite the findings of this study, the clinical significance of an increased TT-TG distance as an isolated risk factor for noncontact @entity130 remains unanswered. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, case-control study.
