Reports of magnetic resonance images of the hip in patients with femoroacetabular impingement: is useful information provided to the orthopedic surgeon?

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was twofold: (1) To evaluate the quality of radiology reports of MR imaging/arthrography (MRI/MRA) of the hip performed on symptomatic young adults with suspected femoroacetabular impingement (FAI); and (2) to assess if MRI/MRA reports provide relevant information for surgical decision-making.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: We evaluated 110 MRI/MRA reports provided by 73 radiologists from 42 institutions. The images were requested preoperatively in young adults who underwent hip-preserving surgery for treatment of FAI. The quality of reports was graded using Lee's method by two independent observers. The description of seven characteristics of the hip joint was scrutinized in order to assess if the reports contained relevant information for surgical decision-making.
RESULTS: The quality of reports was Grade IIA in two cases (1.8 %), IIB in six (5.5 %), III in 60 (54.5 %), and IV in 42 (38.2 %). Relevant hip characteristics for the study of FAI were reported as follows: acetabular labrum (88.1 %), cartilage characteristics (69 %), morphology of the femoral head-neck junction (34.5 %), acetabular version (6.3 %), acetabular coverage (20.9 %), soft tissues description (82.7 %), and presence of bone marrow edema (80.9 %). The vast majority (91.8 %) of the reports described five or less relevant FAI characteristics.
CONCLUSIONS: Most of the radiology reports of MRI/MRA of the hip performed on symptomatic young adults with FAI were of the highest quality. However, some characteristics believed to be important for surgical decision-making in this particular group of patients were frequently not described. The inclusion of these hip joint characteristics in the radiology reports may improve the usefulness of the information provided to the orthopedic surgeon.