Radiographic Measures for the Assessment of Frontal and Sagittal Knee Alignments and the Associated Normality Values: A Meta-Analysis

Objective

The purpose of this literature review was to identify knee alignment assessment methods using radiography in the sagittal and frontal planes and to identify normality values for classifying knee alignment using these methods.

Methods

A systematic review with a meta-analysis was conducted. The eligibility criterion was studies that performed radiographic examinations to assess the knee alignment of adults without a history of hip or knee prosthesis surgery. The methodological qualities of the included studies were assessed using the QUADAS-2 tool. A meta-analysis was performed to measure the normality values of knee alignment in the frontal plane.

Results

The hip-knee-ankle (HKA) angle was the measure most frequently used to assess knee alignment. Only a meta-analysis of HKA normality values was possible. Thereby, we found normality values of the HKA angle for the overall population, men, and women. The normality values of knee alignment for healthy adults that were found in this study were as follows: overall sample (male and female patients) HKA angle = –0.2° (–2.8° to 2.41°), male patient HKA angle = 0.77° (–2.91° to 7.94°), and female patient HKA angle = –0.67° (–5.32° to 3.98°).

Conclusion

This review identified the most common methods and expected values for knee alignment assessment methods using radiography in the sagittal and frontal planes. We suggest HKA angles ranging from –3° to 3° as the cutoff for classifying knee alignment in the frontal plane, in accordance with the normality limits found in the meta-analysis.