OBJECTIVETo investigate clinical characteristics of posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injuries.

METHODSTo review all 326 patients with PCL injuries from January 2006 to June 2013 retrospectively, which were grouped according to injury patterns. The survey included the gender, age, sides, duration from injury to surgery, cause of injury and combined injuries. Compare the patient-specific factors between two groups.

RESULTSMale patients were the majority of PCL injuries (73%), and 30 to 50 years old patients accounted for 59%. 62.6% of all patients went for a doctor within one month after trauma. Traffic accidents were the main cause of PCL injuries (59%), especially motorcycle accidents (74.3%). Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries were the most common combined injuries (46.9%),followed by medial collateral ligament (MCL) (29.8%) and posterolateral corner (PLC) (26.1%). The meniscal tears accounted for 30.4% of total cases. The in-substance PCL injuries (71.5%) were far more than avulsion fractures (28.5%), and the former had more combined injuries than the later (P < 0.05). The causes of injuries were statistically different between two groups (P < 0.05). The prevalence of isolated avulsions was higher than isolated in-substance injuries (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONIn the general population, in-substance PCL tears were dominant on PCL injuries. The prevalence of combined injuries was quite high, among which ACL injuries were the most common. Insertion avulsion fractures emerged mainly at the tibial side, which had less combined injuries than those suffered in-substance PCL injuries. The incidence of isolated insertion avulsion fractures was higher than isolated in-substance injuries.