Abstract: Objective · To estimate the value of four physical examination methods in the diagnosis of anterior cruciate ligament complete rupture.  Methods · A retrospective study was conducted on 100 patients who underwent surgical treatment for knee joint injury from July 11, 2016 to June 10, 2017. They received four physical examinations including Lachman test, anterior drawer test, lever sign test and pivot shift test. The results of the arthroscopy inspections were used as gold standard. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive likelihood ratio, negative likelihood ratio, accuracy and other parameter of four physical examinations were comprehensively discussed.  Results · Arthroscopic examination confirmed that 81 patients had complete rupture of anterior cruciate ligament. The sensitivities of anterior drawer test, lever test, pivot shift test and Lachman test were 87.7%, 100.0%, 97.5% and 96.3%, and the specificities were 84.2%, 78.9%, 73.7% and 63.2%, respectively. The positive predictive values were 95.9%, 95.3%, 94.0% and 91.8%, while the negative predictive values were 61.5%, 100.0%, 87.5% and 80.0%, respectively. The accuracies were 87%, 96%, 93% and 90%,  respectively. The positive likelihood ratios were 5.6, 4.7, 3.7 and 2.6, while the negative ones were 0.1, 0, 0 and 0.1, respectively.  Conclusion · Anterior drawer test is the most effective in diagnosing the complete rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament, while lever sign test is the most effective in excluding one. Lever sign test is the most sensitive and easy to operate, especially for fresh bruise, acute injury, limb swelling and obesity, with high diagnostic value.

Key words: anterior cruciate ligament rupture, physical examination, diagnosis, evaluation