Steeper tibial and meniscal slopes as predictive factors for ramp lesions in anterior cruciate ligament injuries

The relationship between ramp lesion (RL), tibial slope (TS), and meniscal slope (MS) remains inadequately explored. This study aims to investigate whether TS and MS are predictive factors for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries associated with RL, and to evaluate the performance of TS and MS in predicting RL, including determining optimal cut-off values. A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 253 patients who underwent ACL reconstruction. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure TS and MS on tibial plateaus. Logistic regression analyses determined associations between TS, MS, and RL. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves evaluated predictive performance and cut-off values. A total of 65 cases (25.7%) were found to have RL. Significant differences in causes of injury, medial TS (MTS), medial MS (MMS), and bone bruises were observed between groups. In the unadjusted model and adjusted models, they showed significant (P < 0.001) associations for MTS (1.73-1.75) and MMS (OR range = 2.14-2.24). The AUC for MTS was 0.72 (95% CI 0.65-0.79, P < 0.001) with a cut-off value of 6.73°, for MMS was 0.80 (95% CI 0.74-0.86, P < 0.001) with a cut-off value of 4.03°, indicating good predictive performance. Larger MTS and MMS are significant predictive factors for RL in patients with ACL injury. Clinicians should closely monitor ACL injury patients with elevated MTS or MMS. Utilizing MTS or MMS as a predictive parameter shows promise for the identification of RL.