{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,12]],"date-time":"2026-06-12T02:57:05Z","timestamp":1781233025397,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]],"date-time":"2026-06-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781136000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["JCM"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Patellar chondromalacia (PC) is a clinical condition characterized by early cartilage degeneration in the patellofemoral joint. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between the lateral-to-medial femoral condyle length ratio (LFCL\/MFCL) measured on standard anteroposterior (AP) knee radiographs and the presence of PC. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on patients who presented with anterior knee pain between 2020 and 2024. PC was diagnosed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The LFCL\/MFCL ratio was measured on plain radiographs. Additional morphological condylar parameters were evaluated on MRI. Symptom severity was assessed using the Kujala score. Statistical analyses included t-tests, correlation analysis, logistic regression, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Results: A total of 100 patients (50 with PC, 50 controls) were included. The LFCL\/MFCL ratio was significantly higher in the PC group compared to controls (1.24 \u00b1 0.19 vs. 1.08 \u00b1 0.15, p = 0.002). A negative correlation was found between the LFCL\/MFCL ratio and Kujala score (r = \u22120.322, p = 0.029). Other MRI-based parameters did not show statistically significant differences. In logistic regression, the LFCL\/MFCL ratio was identified as an independent predictor of PC (p = 0.01). ROC analysis yielded an AUC of 0.743 (95% CI: 0.643\u20130.842). Conclusions: The LFCL\/MFCL ratio, which can be easily measured on plain radiographs, may serve as a simple, cost-effective, and reproducible parameter to aid in the diagnosis of patellar chondromalacia. Further prospective studies with larger sample sizes are needed to validate this finding.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jcm15124535","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,12]],"date-time":"2026-06-12T01:52:08Z","timestamp":1781229128000},"page":"4535","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Lateral-to-Medial Femoral Condyle Length Ratio on Standard AP Knee Radiographs as a Predictor of Patellar Chondromalacia"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0420-226X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Bedirhan","family":"Albayrak","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Samsun City Hospital, Samsun 55080, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Furkan","family":"Tabur","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Ondokuz May\u0131s University, Samsun 55100, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7949-1348","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Furkan","family":"Erdo\u011fan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Ondokuz May\u0131s University, Samsun 55100, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ferhat","family":"Say","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Ondokuz May\u0131s University, Samsun 55100, Turkey"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"721","DOI":"10.2214\/AJR.09.3008","article-title":"Analysis of the patellofemoral region on MRI: Association of abnormal trochlear morphology with severe cartilage defects","volume":"194","author":"Ali","year":"2010","journal-title":"AJR Am. 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