Comparison of Imaging Characteristics in Pediatric Patients With Trochlear Versus Medial Femoral Condyle Osteochondritis Dissecans.

Background: Although osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) lesions are well-described in the femoral condyles and have been associated with varus limb alignment, there is limited data on OCD lesions in the trochlea.

Purpose: To compare the baseline imaging characteristics in pediatric patients with trochlear OCD with those with medial femoral condyle (MFC) OCD to understand whether measures of coronal plane alignment predispose to OCD development by anatomic location.

Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.

Methods: This study retrospectively reviewed all pediatric patients (age ≤18 years) diagnosed with isolated trochlear OCD at a tertiary-care medical center from January 2016 to May 2023; all included patients had weight-bearing hip-to-ankle alignment radiographs. Hip-knee-ankle angle (HKA), mechanical lateral distal femoral angle (mLDFA), medial proximal tibial angle (MPTA), mechanical axis deviation (MAD), Caton-Deschamps Index (CDI), patellar tilt, and sulcus angle were measured on initial/preoperative anteroposterior and lateral knee radiographs. Tibial tubercle-trochlear groove (TT-TG) distance and OCD lesion size were measured on initial/preoperative magnetic resonance imaging sequences. Patients were 1 to 2 matched based on age (±2 years) and sex to a cohort with isolated MFC OCD.

Results: A total of 18 extremities in 16 patients were included in the trochlear OCD cohort and matched to 36 extremities in the MFC OCD cohort. The mean age at the first clinical visit for all patients was 14.8 ± 1.5 years and did not differ significantly between the two groups ( = .40). The extremities with trochlear OCD had significantly less varus HKA (1°± 2° vs -1°± 2°; = .004) and MAD (4 ± 8 vs -3 ± 8 mm; = .004) compared with the MFC cohort as well as lower mLDFA (86°± 2° vs 88°± 2°; = .004). There were no differences in MPTA, CDI, patellar tilt, sulcus angle, TT-TG distance, or OCD lesion size between groups.

Conclusion: Pediatric patients with trochlear OCD had statistically less varus coronal plane alignment compared with age- and sex-matched patients with MFC OCD, with the latter exhibiting more significant varus based on the HKA and MAD.