To study the relationship between distal radioulnar joint (DRUJ) effusion and the integrity of triangular fibrcarotilage (TFC) in asymptomatic young adults.

Thirty two asymptomatic young adults, 22 males and 10 females with a mean age of 25 year(20-30) were recruited in the study between September 2014 and October 2019. All subjects had no wrist pain, no wrist deformity or wrist mass, and had no history of wrist trauma or surgery. The DRUJ effusion was definedasfluid-like high signal intensityon fatsuppression proton density-weighted MRI.The presence of distal radioulnar joint effusion, the shape of the effusion, and the presence of triangular fibrocartilage abnormalities were documented.

Among 32 subjects, 25(78.1%, 15 males and 10 females) presented with distal radioulnar joint effusion on wrist MR images, including linear/tubular in 21 cases(84.0%) and saccular in 4 cases(16.0%).Twenty cases (62.5%) had distal radioulnar joint effusion while the TFC was intact, among whom, the effusion was confined to the proximal side of distal radioulnar jointin 17 cases, and reached the lower surface of TFC in 3 cases. In 5 cases (15.6%) with TFC tear, the effusion reached the lower surface of TFC in 4 cases. There were neutral, positive and negative variations of the ulna in 23, 6 and 3 cases, respectively, among whomthe distal radioulnar effusion was presented in 17, 5, 3 cases, and TFC tear in 1, 4 and 0 cases, respectively.The presence of distal radioulnar effusion was not significantly correlated with genders(P=0.069) or types of ulna variance(P=0.702).

The distal radioulnar joint effusion maybe resent in asymptomatic young adults, and it maybe complicated with TFC tear.

Triangular fibrocartilage; Distal radioulnar joint; Effusion; Magnetic resonance imaging