Background: Bony and soft-tissue impingement syndromes are now increasingly being recognized as significant causes of chronic ankle pain.
Objective: To compare the diagnostic efficacy of MR arthrography with conventional MRI in evaluation of ankle impingement in correlation with clinical and arthroscopic findings.
Patients and methods: This study reviewed 23 patients who had preoperative MR imaging and MR arthrography and then underwent arthroscopy (as a gold standard), in the period from May 2019 till August 2021. The study is approved by the ethical committee of Faculty of Medicine of Assiut University.
Results: Conventional MRI and MR arthrography showed sensitivity, specificity, and an accuracy of 100.0% in diagnosing bony impingement. For diagnosing soft tissue impingement; MR arthrography was shown to be more superior to conventional MRI with a sensitivity of 88.2%, a specificity of 100.0%, and an accuracy of 94.4%.
Conclusion: MR arthrography is highly beneficial in diagnosing bony and soft impingement that expands the functionality of conventional MR imaging by taking advantage of the natural benefits of joint effusion.