Imaging of non-osteochondral tissues in osteoarthritis

Authors

A Guermazi, Department of Radiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: guermazi@bu.edu.
F W. Roemer, Department of Radiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany.
M D. Crema, Department of Radiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Hospital do CoraÇão (HCor) and Teleimagem, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
M Englund, Department of Orthopedics, Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden; Clinical Epidemiology Research and Training Unit, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
D Hayashi, Department of Radiology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Radiology, Bridgeport Hospital, Yale University School of Medicine, Bridgeport, CT, USA.

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Osteoarthritis and cartilage

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this review is to describe imaging techniques for evaluation of non-osteochondral structures such as the synovium, menisci in the knee, labrum in the hip, ligaments and muscles and to review the literature from recent clinical and epidemiological studies of OA. METHODS: This is a non-systematic narrative review of published literature on imaging of non-osteochondral tissues in OA. PubMed and MEDLINE search for articles published up to 2014, using the keywords osteoarthritis, synovitis, meniscus, labrum, ligaments, plica, muscles, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), scintigraphy, and positron emission tomography (PET). RESULTS: Published literature showed imaging of non-osteochondral tissues in OA relies primarily on MRI and ultrasound. The use of semiquantitative and quantitative imaging biomarkers of non-osteochondral tissues in clinical and epidemiological OA studies is reported. We highlight studies that have compared both imaging methodologies directly, and those that have established a relationship between imaging biomarkers and clinical outcomes. We provide recommendations as to which imaging protocols should be used to assess disease-specific changes regarding synovium, meniscus in the knee, labrum in the hip, and ligaments, and highlight potential pitfalls in their usage. CONCLUSION: MRI and ultrasound are currently the most useful imaging modalities for evaluation of non-osteochondral tissues in OA. MRI evaluation of any tissue needs to be performed using appropriate MR pulse sequences. Ultrasound may be particularly useful for evaluation of small joints of the hand. Nuclear medicine and CT play a limited role in imaging of non-osteochondral tissues in OA.

First Page

1590

Last Page

605

DOI

10.1016/j.joca.2014.05.001

Publication Date

10-1-2014

Recommended Citation

Guermazi, A; Roemer, F W.; Crema, M D.; Englund, M; and Hayashi, D, "Imaging of non-osteochondral tissues in osteoarthritis" (2014). Systematic Reviews. 5.
https://scholar.bridgeporthospital.org/descriptive_study/5

Identifier

25278069 (pubmed); 10.1016/j.joca.2014.05.001 (doi); S1063-4584(14)01080-2 (pii)