Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury among Patients with Knee Injury Visiting the Out-patient Department of Orthopaedics of a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Anterior cruciate ligament injury diagnoses are often missed at initial presentation. Though better diagnosed by physical examinations when done by orthopaedics surgeons, proper history is also important in diagnosing it. This study aimed to find the prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament injury among patients with knee injury visiting the out-patient Department of Orthopaedics of a tertiary care centre.

Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on patients visiting the out-patient Department of Orthopaedics of a tertiary care centre within the study period from 31 January 2019 to 1 February 2020, after obtaining clearance from the Institutional Review Committee [Reference number: 321(6-11-E)2/075/076]. The anterior cruciate ligament injury diagnosis was made using a Magnetic Resonance Imaging scan. They were inquired about the specific history features at the time of injury: leg giving way, inability to continue the activity, massive swelling of knee joint within 6 hours, and 'pop' heard or felt. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated.

Results: Among 127 cases of knee injury, anterior cruciate ligament injury was found in 109 (85.83%) (79.76-91.89, 95% Confidence Interval). History of the leg giving way, inability to continue the activity, massive swelling of the knee and 'pop' heard or felt were present in 90 (82.60%), 92 (84.40%), 91 (83.50%), and 86 (78.90%) cases of anterior cruciate ligament injury respectively. At least two history features were present in 104 (95.41%) cases.

Conclusions: The prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament injury was found to be similar to the published studies.

Keywords: anterior cruciate ligament; diagnosis; history; orthopaedics.