RESUMO
A great number of people all over the world suffer from knee joint problems. The benefits of ultrasound [US] when compared to magnetic resonance imaging [MRI] are that the US is noninvasive, freely available, well-accepted by patients, cheap and that it has the advantage of dynamic evaluation and real-time imaging. In this study, there is a comparison between uUS and MRI in characterization of knee joint diseases using. This is an observational cross-sectional study of 200 patients, who attended the Radiological Center, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia, from October 2011 to August 2013. The US technique has been carried out according to the protocol of American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, using a linear probe transducer with high frequency 7.5-12 MHz. The range of the patients' age was 12-80 years. The most common presenting symptoms were painful swelling of the knee joint and inability to move. In 125 of them US and MRI revealed variable diseases: Effusion [81], loose body [2], synovial cyst [4], quadriceps tendon rupture [1], meniscus tear [6], tumor [1] bursitis [8], arthritis [5], baker cyst [4] deep vein thrombosis [3] diagnosed with both US and MRI, and anterior cruciate ligament tear [6], posterior cruciate ligament tear [4] seen with MRI only The study suggested that US can evaluate cystic lesions, as well as menisci, ligaments, tendons, and muscles tear. Most of the knee joint disorders were degenerative in origin. Since MRI is not easily available in developing countries and rural areas. US can be used routinely for the diagnoses of most knee joint diseases, shortening the list of MRI indications