Abstract
Several people all over the world recently suffer from knee joint diseases. The ultrasound plays an effective role in characterizing knee joint disease since it is safe, rapid, cheap, and has dynamic evaluation and real-time imaging. Aim of the study; to evaluate the performance of ultrasound (US) examination in assessing various types of knee joint pathologies in Saudi Arabian. This is a descriptive cross-sectional study including 224 patients with knee joint pain, attended to the Radiological Center, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia, from October 2014 to June 2018 G, with knee joint symptoms. They were referred from different orthopedic clinics to do the US. One hundred ninety-two were males (85.7%), and 32 were females (14.3%). The age range was 12 - 80 years. The knee joint ultrasound examination was performed with GE-USA Medical System Logic 3 Expert 2007, using linear probes with a high frequency of 7.5 to 12 MHz. The technique protocol meets the standard by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM). Results: The most prevalent sonographic findings of knee pathologies were joint effusion 139 (62), bursitis 18 (8%), meniscus tear 10 (4.5%), Baker's cyst 8 (3.6%), synovial cyst 8 (3.6%), deep vein thrombosis (DVT) 6 (2.7%), loose bodies 4(1.8%), anterior cruciate ligament tear (ACL) 9 (4%), and arthritis 8 (3.6%). US proves the better sensitivity (91.7%), specificity (60%), and accuracy (91.1%), PPV (99%), and NPV (14.13%) for the diagnosis of knee joint pathologies. Ultrasound is effective to evaluate the knee joint diseases with excellent sensitivity and adequate accuracy. It should have considered as a primary imaging modality for Knee joint pathologies.