The prevalence of periarticular lesions detected on magnetic resonance imaging in middle-aged and elderly persons: a cross-sectional study

Cystic lesions and bursae around the knee: do they matter in knee osteoarthritis?

The cause of knee osteoarthritis (OA) and knee pain associated with OA is not well understood. Periarticular cystic lesions and bursae around the knee are among the most common morphologic features identified on MRI in the setting of OA. Despite widespread association of these lesions with knee OA and their inclusion in semiquantitative MRI scoring assessment systems for knee OA, the role that these lesions play in the development of knee pain and OA remains uncertain. In this discussion, we review the cystic lesions and bursae most commonly associated with OA of the knee, examine their relation and role in whole organ imaging assessments of OA, and present the literature investigating the associations of periarticular cysts and cyst-like lesions with knee pain and OA.

Assessment of Pain in Osteoarthritis of the Knee

Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) pain is a subjective and personal experience, making it challenging to characterise patients' experiences and assess their pain. In addition, there is no global standard for the assessment of pain in KOA. Therefore, this article examines the possible methods of assessing and characterising pain in patients with KOA using clinical symptoms, pain assessment tools, and imaging. We examine the current methods of assessment of pain in KOA and their application in clinical practice and clinical trials. Furthermore, we explore the possibility of creating individualised pain management plans to focus on different pain characteristics. With better evaluation and standardisation of pain assessment in these patients, it is hoped that patients would benefit from improved quality of life. At the same time, improvement in pain assessment would enable better data collection regarding symptom response in clinical trials for the treatment of osteoarthritis.

Poor Accuracy of Clinical Diagnosis in Pes Anserine Tendinitis Bursitis Syndrome

OBJECTIVES

To investigate the characteristics of the patients who are clinically diagnosed with pes anserine tendinitis bursitis syndrome (PATBS), and to determine the sensitivity and specificity of clinical diagnose based on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

METHODS

Included in this cross-sectional clinical study were 156 patients who were evaluated based on the clinical presence or absence of PATBS. All patients underwent Q-angle measurement, knee osteoarthritis (OA) grading according to the Kellgren-Lawrence classification, and medial joint space measurement, and their cartilage thickness, and any periarticular and intraarticular knee pathologies were recorded from an assessment of knee MRIs.

RESULTS

Of the total, 64 cases (41%) were diagnosed clinically with PATBS and 92 (59%) were not. There was no difference in the Q angles of the two groups (p > 0.05), while the medial joint spaces were significantly lower in the PATBS patients (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the two groups in an MRI assessment of meniscus and ligament lesions, chondromalacia patella, cyst, bursitis, effusion and synovial pathologies (p > 0.05). The sensitivity and specificity of the PATBS clinical diagnoses relative to the MRI findings were determined as 41.2% and 59.5%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The medial joint space was found to be significantly lower in patients with PATBS, while there was no difference in any other knee pathologies between the two groups. The sensitivity and specificity of a PATBS clinical diagnosis were found to be low, and so it was concluded that clinical PATBS diagnoses may be inaccurate, particularly in the presence of such invasive therapies as injection, and that diagnoses based on imaging methods would be more accurate.

Baker's Cyst with Knee Osteoarthritis: Clinical and Therapeutic Implications

OBJECTIVE

Several symptoms are common to knee osteoarthritis and Baker's cyst. To what extent each condition contributes to the patient's discomfort is still a matter of debate. The aim of the present study was twofold: first, to compare the burden of symptoms in patients with isolated knee osteoarthritis and patients with knee osteoarthritis associated with Baker's cyst; second, to assess the outcomes after conservative treatments.

SUBJECT AND METHODS

Patients suffering from monolateral idiopathic knee osteoarthritis were enrolled. Demographic, anthropometric and clinical data (KOOS scale) were collected. Ultrasound evaluation was performed according to standard protocols. On the basis of the clinical presentation different therapeutic options were used (fluid withdrawal, hyaluronic acid and/or steroids injections).

RESULTS

One-hundred and thirty patients were included in the study (97 with isolated knee osteoarthritis, 33 with knee osteoarthritis and Baker's cyst). In basal conditions, lower scores in KOOS sub-scales were observed in patients with knee osteoarthritis associated with Baker's cyst and in patients with effusion compared with patients without effusion. At 3 months after therapy significant higher scores were observed in both groups. At 6 months the scores were unchanged in the patients without Baker's cyst, but worsened in those with Baker's cyst.

CONCLUSIONS

The study shows that Baker's cysts associated with knee osteoarthritis contribute to the burden of symptoms. The conservative treatment of both conditions allows significant improvements, but in the medium term (6 months) the efficacy of the therapy declines in patients with knee osteoarthritis associated with Baker's cyst.

Bone Cysts and Osteolysis in Ankle Replacement

BACKGROUND

Total ankle replacements (TARs) have higher rates of osteolysis than hip or knee replacements. It is unclear whether this is a pathologic immunologic process in response to wear debris, or expansion of pre-existing osteoarthritic bone cysts. We aimed to determine the incidence of bone cysts in patients with end-stage ankle arthritis prior to surgery and review the literature on bone cysts and osteolysis in relation to TAR.

METHODS

This is a descriptive/prevalence study in which all patients with end-stage ankle arthritis underwent plain radiographic imaging and computed tomographic (CT) scans prior to TAR surgery. Their imaging was assessed for the presence of cysts, measured on sagittal, axial, and coronal slices of the CT scan at the widest diameter. All cysts that would be removed as a result of the bone resection for the implant were excluded using digital analysis software. We assessed 120 consecutive patients with mean age of 63.4 years.

RESULTS

Seventeen patients (14%) did not have any bone cysts based on CT images. Ten patients (8%) had cysts that would have been completely removed by surgery, leaving 93 patients for analysis (78%). In 60% of these cases, the cysts were not seen on the plain radiographs. In 39 patients (33%), the cysts were greater than 5 mm in size. The medial (36%) and lateral malleoli (33%) were the most common location for the cysts (mean diameter 4.6±2.0 and 4.2±2.3 mm, respectively).

CONCLUSION

Bone cysts outside of the resection margins for a TAR were present in 78% of patients with ankle arthritis prior to undergoing surgery. In 30% of cases, cysts were greater than 5 mm in size. In 60% of cases, the cysts were not seen on plain radiographs. Preoperative 3-dimensional imaging can provide a foundation to observe and quantify cyst presence, expansion, and time of onset in the postoperative setting.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE

Level IIc, diagnostic/prevalence study.

Hip Joint Effusion-Synovitis Is Associated With Hip Pain and Sports/Recreation Function in Female Professional Ballet Dancers

OBJECTIVE

To compare hip joint effusion-synovitis prevalence in professional ballet dancers with nondancing athletes and to evaluate the relationship between effusion-synovitis and clinical measures and cartilage defects.

DESIGN

Case-control study.

SETTING

Elite ballet and sport.

PARTICIPANTS

Forty-nine professional ballet dancers and 49 age-matched and sex-matched athletes.

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

Group (dancers/athletes), sex, age, years of training, Copenhagen Hip and Groin Outcome Scores (HAGOSs), hip rotation range of motion (ROM), generalized joint hypermobility (GJH), and hip cartilage defect scores.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Hip joint effusion-synovitis (absent, grade 1 = 2-4 mm, grade 2 = >4 mm) scored with 3-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging.

RESULTS

Hip joint effusion-synovitis was found in 22 (45%) dancers and 13 (26.5%) athletes (P = 0.06). Grade 2 effusion-synovitis was only found in dancers (n = 8, r = 0.31, P = 0.009). The prevalence of effusion-synovitis was similar in men (n = 11, 26%) and women (n = 24, 43%, P = 0.09). Female dancers with effusion-synovitis had lower HAGOS pain (r = 0.63, P = 0.001) and sports/recreation scores (r = 0.66, P = 0.001) compared with those without effusion-synovitis. The HAGOS scores were not related to effusion-synovitis in male dancers or female and male athletes (P > 0.01 for all). Effusion-synovitis was not related to hip ROM, GJH, or cartilage defect scores (P > 0.05 for all).

CONCLUSIONS

Hip joint effusion-synovitis was related to higher levels of pain and lower sports/recreation function in female ballet dancers. Effusion-synovitis was not related to hip rotation ROM, GJH or cartilage defects. Larger sized joint effusion-synovitis was exclusively found in dancers.

[Clinical prospective comparative study on short-term effectiveness of arthroscopic treatment of popliteal cyst between cyctectomy and internal drainage combined with cyctectomy]

Objective

To compare the short-term effectiveness between arthroscopic cystectomy and internal drainage combined with cystectomy in popliteal cyst.

Methods

Between March 2014 and March 2017, 56 patients with symptomatic popliteal cyst were enrolled in the study, randomized block design was used to divided the patients into trial group (arthroscopic cystectomy combined with internal drainage group, n=28) and control group (arthroscopic internal drainage group, n=28). Excluding those who had incomplete follow-up and received surgery for other diseases postoperatively, 26 patients in the experimental group and 27 patients in the control group were finally enrolled in the study. There was no significant difference in gender, age, side, course of disease, maximum diameter and grade of popliteal cyst, and associated diseases between two groups ( P>0.05). The operation time, duration of popliteal ecchymosis and the middle back of calf tenderness were observed postoperatively. The circumference of calf at 1 day, 1 week, and 2 weeks after operation were measured and the differences were calculated with the measurement before operation. Lower extremity venous thrombosis was observed by color doppler ultrasonography at 1 week after operation. The effectiveness was evaluated by Rauschning and Lindgren grading criteria. And MRI was used to observe whether the popliteal cyst disappeared or decreased and measured its maximum diameter at 1 year after operation.

Results

Patients in both groups were followed up 12-14 months, with an average of 12.5 months. The operation time, duration of popliteal ecchymosis, and the middle back of calf tenderness of the trial group were all longer than those in the control group ( P<0.05), the differences of circumference of calf at 1 day, 1 week, and 2 weeks after operation of the trial group were greater than those in the control group ( P<0.05). Color doppler ultrasonography of the lower extremity at 1 week after operation found that the intermuscular venous thrombosis occurred in 2 cases of the trial group, while no lower extremity thrombosis was found in the control group; and the difference between two groups was not significant ( P=0.236). According to the Rauschning and Lindgren grading criteria, there were 16 cases of grade 0, 6 cases of grade 1, and 4 cases of grade 2 in the trial group, and 17 cases of grade 0, 4 cases of grade 1, and 6 cases of grade 2 in the control group at 1 year after operation. There was no significant difference between 2 groups ( Z=-1.872, P=0.078). Nine cases (34.62%) of the trial group and 13 cases (48.15%) of the control group still have residual cysts by MRI, the maximum diameter of which was less than 2 cm. The cysts disappeared in the remaining patients in both groups, and there was no recurrence during the follow-up. There was no significant difference in cyst residual rate between 2 groups ( χ ²=2.293, P=0.852).

Conclusion

Compared with arthroscopic internal drainage, the short-term effectiveness of the arthroscopic internal drainage combined with cystectomy had no significant improvement, and the operation time was prolonged, the postoperative complications were obviously increased.

The Diagnosis and Therapy of Degenerative Knee Joint Disease: Expert Consensus from the Chinese Pain Medicine Panel

At present, there are many constantly updated guidelines and consensuses on the diagnosis and treatment of osteoarthritis both at home and abroad. The recommendations established using methods of evidence-based medicine has experienced strict research on controlling bias and promoting reproduction rate. As a result, the previous evidence was reevaluated, and a lot of changes were provoked in the diagnosis and treatment concept of osteoarthritis. However, several methods not recommended by foreign guidelines are still in use in the current clinical practice in China. On the one hand, Chinese experts have not reached extensive consensus on whether it is necessary to make changes according to foreign guidelines. On the other hand, almost all the current relevant guidelines are on osteoarthritis, but the lesions around knee joints which, as a whole, bear the largest weight in human body, cannot be ignored. For this purpose, Chinese Association for the Study of Pain (CASP) organized some leading experts to formulate this Chinese Pain Specialist Consensus on the diagnosis and treatment of degenerative knee osteoarthritis (DKOA) in combination with the guidelines in foreign countries and the expert experience of clinical practice in China. The consensus, which includes the definition, pathophysiology, epidemiology, clinical manifestation, diagnostic criteria, and treatments of DKOA, is intended to be used by first-line doctors, including pain physicians to manage patients with DKOA.