Based on the findings of this study, to make the use of preoperative MRI measurements more practical, it is better to assess the predictors in males and females separately. We found height (r = 0.63), weight (r = 0.32), and the CSA of isolated and combined HTs, especially gracilis (r = 0.79) as the best predictors for the HT autograft diameter are. According to our results, a minimum gracilis CSA of 7.5mm2 at the level of the medial epicondyle on axial MRI can assure surgeons of an intraoperative autograft ≥8 mm with 88.9% sensitivity and 80% specificity. Interestingly, when the analysis was performed for males and females separately, the sensitivity increased to 91.7% for males and the specificity to 100% for females at the same cut-off. Regarding semitendinosus or combined HTs CSA measurements, a lower cut-off was obtained for females. This is in line with the hypothesis of this study, which states to have a more practical prediction of the HT autograft diameter, different cut-offs should be considered in males and females (Table 4). From a clinical point of view, we found that females with adequate HT autograft diameter may have less preoperative CSA measurements compared to males. Among all the anthropometric factors investigated in this study, the HT autograft diameter was significantly correlated with height and weight. This is consistent with previous studies showing height and weight as the strongest predictors of autograft diameter among anthropometric factors [8, 15, 18,19,20]. We found a higher degree positive correlation between gracilis CSA and HT autograft diameter than height (r = 0.79 vs. 0.63). A multiple linear regression model showed that gracilis CSA (P < 0.001) and height (P = 0.004) are statistically important determinants of HT autograft diameter with the following linear regression equation:
HT autograft diameter = 0.373 × Gr CSA (mm2) + 0.037× Height (cm) - 1.35.
Few studies have evaluated both MRI and anthropometric variables as predictors of HT autograft diameter simultaneously [6, 9, 10, 13, 22]. One important drawback of these studies is that the patients underwent imaging using a combination of 1.5 T and 3 T MRI. This is while 1.5 T and 3 T MRI can work with different accuracies in predicting the autograft diameter [12]. However, L. Thwin et al. [22] revealed no significant difference between 1.5 T and 3 T MRIs. In the current study, all patients underwent imaging using the same 3 T MRI. Hollnagel et al. [12] showed that CSA measurement of semitendinosus at the level of medial femoral condyle using 3 T MRI is the best correlated with intraoperative autograft diameter.
In the study of Mr. Grawe et al., [9] although anthropometric factors and CSA measurements were investigated simultaneously, the wide range of patients in terms of age (9 to 58 years old) was a serious confounder. While the authors did not consider analysis or a way to adjust this confounding effect. This confounding effect stems from the hypothesis that adolescents typically have smaller anthropometric factors. All patients evaluated in this study were older than 18 years. Leiter et al. [13] used specific computer software to measure CSA that is not available everywhere. We used a simple free-hand region of interest tool that is available in every PACS system and approved by the US Food and Drug Administration [3].
The study by Leiter et al. [13] and Corey et al. [6] were done retrospectively, which questions the accuracy of the measurements especially since the height and weight of the patients were self-reported, which can cause considerable bias in the results. Since measurements of autografts during surgery are usually estimated when they are not performed for the research sample, the retrospective nature of a study can be so limiting that no meaningful results can be obtained like the study of Oliva Moya et al. [16]. Our study was a prospective cohort in which we tried to make the preparation and measurement of the autograft, imaging measurements, and recording of anthropometric factors the same for all patients. Considering the prospective design of this study, unlike Heijboer et al., [10] we considered the time interval between the recording of MRI and anthropometric factors with surgery to be the same in all patients, which was not more than 1 month. All of these can be possible reasons for the higher degree positive correlation between predictors and autograft diameter in this study compared to the few studies that evaluated both MRI and anthropometric variables simultaneously [6, 9, 10, 13, 22].
However, this study also has shortcomings that can be controlled in other studies to obtain more reliable results. In this study, CSA was measured only at the level of the medial epicondyle, while studies [12] have shown that the correlation between CSA and autograft diameter can be different by measuring it in different areas. However, it has been proven that the best area to measure CSA is the medial condyle or epicondyle [11, 12]. Radiological measurements in this study were performed by an expert musculoskeletal radiologist. Not using different reviewers, including orthopaedic surgeons, has made it impossible to obtain intra- and interrater reliability of the measurements. This can affect the clinical applicability of the results of this study. The small study population is another important limitation of this study that implies the cut-offs and the equation reported in this study should be used with caution.