Diagnostic Accuracy of Lachman Test for Diagnosis of Anterior Cruciate Ligament Tear In Adults With Knee Injuries Using Arthroscopy As Gold Standard

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the Lachman test's ability to identify an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) rupture using arthroscopy as the gold standard. Methods: This cross-sectional (validation) study was done from September 2022 to March 2023. Individuals presenting with a knee injury were enrolled and underwent Lachman test and later on arthroscopy and findings will be recorded. SPSS version 25 was used to analyze the collected data. Results: 150 patients were enrolled with a mean age of 39.95 ± 11.46 years. There were 80 (53.3%) male patients and 70 (46.7%) were females. In this study, we observed that the Lachman test had 81.8% sensitivity, 95.2% specificity, PPV & NPV were 93.1% and 87.0%, respectively and diagnostic accuracy of 89.3%. Conclusion: The Lachman test is a reliable test for the diagnosis of anterior cruciate ligament tear in knee injuries, which can replace arthroscopy and other invasive or expensive modalities.