Measurement of the tibial plateau angle in cats with and without cranial cruciate ligament rupture.

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to determine the tibial plateau angle (TPA) in cats without stifle pathology and to compare it with cats suffering from an isolated cranial cruciate ligament rupture. Mediolateral radiographs of the stifle were taken and the tibial plateau angle was measured based on the method previously described by Slocum and Devine (1983) for dogs. Three observers with different levels of experience evaluated the radiographs of all of the cats in this study. The mean tibial plateau angle measured by all three observers in the cats with a rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament (CCL) was 3.1 degrees greater than in cats without stifle pathology. Neither gender, age, body weight nor degenerative joint disease had an influence on measurement results. The authors found an inter-observer variability of +/- 5.3 degrees . Hence it can be concluded that cats with cranial cruciate ligament rupture have a greater TPA, and this at least lends some credence to the possibility of higher TPA being a predisposing factor for cruciate injury in this species.