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Vet Comp Orthop Traumatol 2014; 27(03): 222-229
DOI: 10.3415/VCOT-13-12-0145
Original Research
Schattauer GmbH

Comparison of radiographic measurements of the patellar tendon-tibial plateau angle with anatomical measurements in dogs

Validity of the common tangent and tibial plateau methods
C. Bismuth
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L’Etoile, France
,
F. X. Ferrand
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L’Etoile, France
,
M. Millet
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L’Etoile, France
,
A. Labrunie
3   CHU Limoges, Pôle Santé Publique, Service de l’Information Médicale et de l’Evaluation, Unité fonctionnelle de Recherche Clinique et de Biostatistiques, Limoges, France
,
B. Marin
3   CHU Limoges, Pôle Santé Publique, Service de l’Information Médicale et de l’Evaluation, Unité fonctionnelle de Recherche Clinique et de Biostatistiques, Limoges, France
,
P. Pillard
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L’Etoile, France
,
C. Deroy
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L’Etoile, France
,
D. Fau
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L’Etoile, France
,
C. Carozzo
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L’Etoile, France
2   Unite ICE UPSP 2011-03-101, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L’Etoile, France
,
T. Cachon
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L’Etoile, France
2   Unite ICE UPSP 2011-03-101, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L’Etoile, France
,
E. Viguier
1   Department of Small Animal Surgery, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L’Etoile, France
2   Unite ICE UPSP 2011-03-101, National Veterinary School of Lyon, VetAgro Sup-Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, Université de Lyon, Marcy L’Etoile, France
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received 06 December 2013

Accepted 09 March 2014

Publication Date:
21 December 2017 (online)

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Summary

Objective: To evaluate the validity of the common tangent and conventional tibial plateau angle methods for measuring the patellar tendon angle (PTA) in dogs.

Methods: Radiographs of cadaveric stifles (n = 20) placed at 135° in true lateral position were obtained to measure the PTA with both methods. A Kirschner wire was inserted perpendicularly to the patellar tendon at its insertion on the tibia and the stifle was dissected. Two Kirschner wires were then used to identify the anatomical landmarks of the tibial plateau. A digital image was obtained of the proximal tibia in true lateral position. Six blinded observers measured each PTA digitally while the anatomical PTA was determined by an independent blinded observer from the angle between the line representing the tibial plateau and the Kirschner wire representing the perpendicular to the patellar tendon. The agreement between the methods was determined statistically from an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

Results: The global ICC for the common tangent method (0.44) and for the conventional method (0.4) indicated that their overall validity is poor. The measurements obtained by common tangent method and conventional method were respectively below and above the anatomical measurements. The reproducibility of the PTA measurements based on images of the dissected stifles was very good.

Clinical significance: Both the common tangent and conventional methods show poor concordance with the anatomical measurement of PTA. Further studies are needed to determine if errors in measurements affect the clinical outcome.

Keywords

Patellar tendon angle - common tangent - tibial plateau - dog - anatomic - validity
 

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