Objective Knee crepitus, the audible crackling or grinding noise during knee movement, can be experienced across the lifespan and create concern for underlying pathology. Our systematic review aims to provide a summary estimate of knee crepitus prevalence and its association with structural pathology among the general population and across knee conditions. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Data sources Medline, Embase, CENTRAL, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus and CINAHL. Eligibility criteria Studies evaluating knee crepitus prevalence. Results 103 studies involving 36 439 participants (42 816 knees) were included. Based on very low certainty evidence, the pooled prevalence of knee crepitus in the general population was 41% (7609 knees; 95% CI 36% to 45%; I2=92.6%); in pain-free persons 36% (852 knees; 95% CI 23% to 50%; I2=91.9%), and in those with osteoarthritis (OA) 81% (18 821 knees; 95% CI 75% to 87%; I2=97.9%). Across other musculoskeletal knee conditions, the pooled prevalence of knee crepitus ranged from 35% (ligament injury; 2740 knees; 95% CI 27% to 44%; I2=95.6%) to 61% (cartilage pathology; 1445 knees; 95% CI 40% to 81%; I2=98.2%). There was low to very low certainty evidence of an association between knee crepitus and radiographic OA (OR 3.79, 95% CI 1.99 to 7.24; 1725 knees; I2=53.0%) and several OA-related features on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Conclusion In this review, knee crepitus was prevalent in the general population, pain-free persons, those with knee OA and other musculoskeletal knee conditions. Knee crepitus was associated with a more than threefold increased odds of radiographic OA diagnosis and several OA-related MRI features. The low to very low certainty of evidence informing our aggregated prevalence estimates and association outcomes suggest that results should be interpreted with caution. Data are available upon reasonable request.

中文翻译：

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膝盖嘈杂 - 膝关节捻发音患病率和与结构病理学的相关性：系统评价和荟萃分析


目的 膝关节捻发音，即膝关节运动过程中可听到的噼啪声或磨擦声，可在整个生命周期中出现，并引起对潜在病变的关注。我们的系统评价旨在提供对膝关节捻发音患病率及其与普通人群和跨膝关节疾病结构病理学相关性的汇总估计。设计 系统评价和荟萃分析。数据来源 Medline、Embase、CENTRAL、Web of Science、SPORTDiscus 和 CINAHL。资格标准 评估膝关节捻发音患病率的研究。结果 共纳入 103 项研究，涉及 36 439 名研究对象 （42 816 个膝关节）。基于极低质量证据，普通人群中膝关节捻发音的汇总患病率为 41%（7609 个膝关节;95% CI 36% 至 45%;I2=92.6%）;在无痛人群中，36% （852 膝;95% CI 23% 至 50%;I2=91.9%），骨关节炎 （OA） 患者为 81%（18 821 个膝关节;95% CI 75% 至 87%;I2=97.9%）。在其他肌肉骨骼膝关节疾病中，膝关节捻发音的总体患病率范围为 35%（韧带损伤;2740 例膝关节;95% CI 27% 至 44%;I2=95.6%）至 61%（软骨病变;1445 个膝关节;95% CI 40% 至 81%;I2=98.2%）。有低到极低质量证据表明膝关节捻发音与影像学 OA 之间存在关联（OR 3.79,95% CI 1.99 至 7.24;1725 个膝关节;I2=53.0%）和磁共振成像 （MRI） 上的几个 OA 相关特征。结论 在本综述中，膝关节捻发音在普通人群、无痛人群、膝关节 OA 和其他肌肉骨骼膝关节疾病患者中普遍存在。膝关节捻发音与影像学 OA 诊断的几率增加 3 倍以上和一些与 OA 相关的 MRI 特征相关。 为我们的总患病率估计和关联结果提供信息的证据质量为低到极低，这表明应谨慎解释结果。数据可根据合理要求提供。