Comparison of age-specific T1 and T2 values and evaluation of the utility of age-specific cutoff values for triangular fibrocartilage complex injuries.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate the utility of age-specific cutoff values for triangular fibrocartilage complex (TFCC) injuries. METHODS: This study included 42 patients with TFCC injuries and 20 healthy volunteers. Each group was stratified into young and middle-aged groups using the cutoff age of 30. All participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging using a 1.5T scanner, and T1 and T2 values were measured at the articular disc and ulnar styloid attachment. Group comparisons by age (young vs. middle-aged) and condition (healthy vs. injured) were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test with Bonferroni correction. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance in distinguishing between healthy and injured groups. The area under the ROC curve (AUC) with and without age stratification was compared using the DeLong test. RESULTS: In the comparisons between the age groups, the T2 values at the ulnar styloid attachment were significantly lower in the healthy middle-aged group than those in the healthy young group (p = 0.006). In the comparisons between the condition groups, most T1 and T2 values were significantly higher in the injury group than those in the healthy group, (p < 0.0001 to 0.008). Age stratification, particularly for T2 values, improved AUCs from 0.80-0.87 to 0.85-1.00. CONCLUSION: Age-specific quantitative evaluation, particularly based on T2 cutoff values, may be useful for the diagnosis of TFCC injuries. ADVANCES IN KNOWLEDGE: The use of age-specific T2 cutoff values appears to improve the diagnostic performance of TFCC injury compared with non-age-stratified assessment.