Table 1.
Sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value (PPV) of mechanical symptoms for meniscal tear.
| Author | Year | Definition of mechanical symptoms | Measure of mechanical symptoms | Diagnostic standard for meniscal tear | Sample size | Prevalence of meniscal tear | Sensitivity | Specificity | PPV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noble | 1975 | Locking | Self-reported, scale not reported by authors | Arthroscopy | 113 | 1.00 | 0.32 | N/A | N/A |
| Aglietti | 1985 | Locking | Physician-reported upon physical examination | Arthroscopy | 100 | 1.00 | 0.59 | N/A | N/A |
| Friedman | 1987 | Locking, clicking, catching, buckling | Self-reported, scale not reported by authors | Arthroscopy | 42 | 1.00 | 0.50 | N/A | N/A |
| Niu | 2011 | Clicking, giving way, catching, locking | Self-reported, using the Meniscal Symptom Index | MRI | 300 | 0.40 | 0.47–0.69 | 0.5–0.75 | N/A |
| Sihvonen | 2016 | Locking, catching | Self-reported using an adapted version of the locking domain of Lysholm knee score | Arthroscopy | 932 | 1.00 | 0.63 | N/A | N/A |
| Pihl* | 2017 | Catching, locking | Self-reported frequency of symptoms, ranging from “never” to “daily” | Arthroscopy | 620 | 1.00 | 0.51 | N/A | N/A |
| Hare | 2017 | Catching | Self-reported on 5-point Likert scale of severity | MRI | 199 | 1.00 | 0.41 | N/A | N/A |
| MacFarlane | 2017 | Clicking, catching, popping, giving way, locking, swelling, pain with pivoting or twisting | Self-reported frequency of symptoms in the last week, ranging from “never” to “several times per day” | MRI | 227 | 1.00 | 0.49 | N/A | N/A |
| Pihl* | 2019 | Catching, locking, extension deficit | Self-reported, using KOOS symptom subscale | Arthroscopy | 566 | 1.00 | 0.68 | N/A | N/A |
| Thorlund* | 2019 | Catching, locking, extension deficit | Self-reported, using KOOS symptom subscale | Arthroscopy | 817 | 0.78 | 0.53 | 0.36 | 0.75 |
| Sihvonen | 2020 | Catching, locking | Self-reported using the locking domain of the Lysholm knee score | Arthroscopy | 146 | 1.00 | 0.47 | N/A | N/A |
| Farina | 2021 | Catching, clicking, pain with pivoting or twisting | Self-reported, using KOOS symptom subscale items | Arthroscopy | 565 | 0.79 | 0.65 | 0.45 | 0.81 |
| MacFarlane | 2021 | Clicking, catching, popping, intermittent locking, giving way, swelling | Self-reported frequency of symptoms in the last week, ranging from “never” to “several times per day” | MRI | 287 | 1.00 | 0.48–0.67 | N/A | N/A |
*
Patients in these studies are from the same cohort.